(Many DU'ers were there for the event last night. Crowd estimates from 6,500 to 10,000 filled the arena with only a couple of days notice. BonJovi was great and so was the enthused crowd)
By ROB CHRISTENSEN AND LYNN BONNER, Staff Writers
RALEIGH -- John Edwards came home to a raucous welcome Friday night, reminding voters of his deep roots here and arguing that his running mate, John Kerry, and not President Bush best represents Carolina values.
At a packed, confetti-littered Dorton Arena in West Raleigh four days before the election, Edwards, the Democratic candidate for vice president, reflected on how he had cast his ballot minutes earlier in Raleigh.
-snip-
Elizabeth Edwards, who spoke before him, gave the more partisan speech, saying that the state had lost 160,000 jobs and that Bush refused to take responsibility for the economic problems at home and problems in the war in Iraq.
"Shame on him," she said.
That prompted the crowd to begin chanting "Shame on Bush! Shame on Bush!" Later it was, "Trade him in! Trade him in!"
The crowd was a mixture of people who knew the Edwardses, who supported Sen. John Kerry or who just want to see an end to the Bush presidency.
Some waited as long as an hour and a half in line to go through security and enter the arena.
"I can't believe I'm waiting in a line this long to see John and Elizabeth," said Carolyn McAllaster, a Duke University law professor who went to law school with them.
Added Roslyn Slope-Troutman, 35, a Raleigh school teacher:
"I think his vision for where the country needs to go is better than the vision George Bush has given us for four years."
But there were voices of dissent outside the arena.
A group of about 20 bicyclists pedaled down Hillsborough Street chanting, "Bush streets!"
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1780758p-8070667c.html
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