Senator Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop in Seattle last night, Thursday, February 7, 2008. The venue was… puzzling, to put it mildly, a warehouse on the waterfront near the Port of Seattle. Parking was insane, as, due to the Port, most of us had to scramble to find street parking, walk several blocks (if not miles) north, cross over railroad tracks and under the viaduct, and walk several more blocks south.

It was a cold and gusty night, but, unusually for Seattle, not raining. I parked my car, made the long, long, long trek over to the venue, chatting with the people around me. Most had made their minds up to support Hillary: the rest were undecided. As we scrambled over curbs, leaped huge puddles filled with icy water and tried not slip on gravel and pebbles, a spirited political discussion went on, ranging from how weird the election was, to how much everyone was looking forward to Bush being out of office (a lot!) to whether or not Hillary was too polarizing or Obama too inexperienced.

We all duly filed past a large security fence, into a gate, back into a long, long, long line and then inside Seattle’s Pier 30. To describe this warehouse as unprepossessing is to put it mildly, although everything looked in good repair. Hard floors, pale blue walls, aluminum fixtures - and that was more or less it. The crowd congregated at the entrance to the main room, flooded toward the door, and jammed together, there we stopped. Since I am on the small side, all I could really see were the people in front of me and a corner of the American flag in the next room.

It was a long almost-two hours before the senator arrived. To pass the time, I engaged in a yet another spirited political discourse with the people around me. As you might imagine, at an after-work rally on a work night, the people around me were fairly committed Hillary supporters, although one or two said they were “curious” and, I believe, some parents brought their girls of varying ages to see the first woman mounting a serious challenge to the office of the presidency.

One Obama supporter was standing near me – a lovely young lady in her twenties somewhere. She said that she felt as though Obama “got her” and she “resonated” with him. After a few minutes’ conversation, I got the sense that her mind was made up, so just steered the conversation back into more generic channels.

Much of the pro-Hillary conversation centered on her competence, her hard work and, over and over again, her “health care plan.” In our state with two women senators and a woman governor (even if she did endorse Obama), no one made any stupid remarks about a woman not being up for the challenge, at least, not where I could hear them. The crowd seemed to be of all ages and races and the unions were out in force.

FINALLY, the program started, with speeches from our former, very popular (and Hillary-endorsing) governor, Gary Locke; our current County Executive, Ron Sims, and Congressman Jay Inslee. Their speeches were mercifully short, but once Hillary joined them, the visual was stunning (so I saw in the paper – sadly, I couldn’t see a thing, except the shoulders of the six-foot-three inch man in front of me) – the country’s first Asian-American governor, our current African-American County Executive, the Caucasian Congressman Inslee – and Hillary. Senator Obama may preach unity, but in that picture and in that overstuff warehouse on a chilly February night, I saw unity.

Hillary’s speech was amazing – forty intense minutes in which she 1) outlined her vision of where the country needed to go, 2) criticized the Bush administration roundly, 3) told several stories that related to the average voter, 4) took a few gentle jabs to differentiate herself from Senator Obama (during which I saw quite a few heads nodding), 4) included pertinent, up-to-date facts on everything from traumatic brain injury to green energy producers in our state (we have quite a few) to education reform to rebuilding national security - prompting one guy next to me to murmur, “Wow, she REALLY knows her stuff,” and 5) prompted several rounds of applause. Her speaking voice is deeper and more resonant than it used to be – she sounded a little hoarse as well – but her energy level never flagged.

Definitely, her health care plan and, even more, her national security plan have distinct similarities to General Clark’s plan. When she was talking about our armed forces, she said, “…and we’ll use force as a LAST resort not as a FIRST resort.” I laughed in delight, prompting some strange looks from people around me. The evening ended with a prolonged bout of applause – I’m told she did shake hands and greet people, but it was already close to eleven and a long, cold walk to my car awaited me, so I hurried out of there.

I only wish I could have met her – or even seen her. But it’s a night I’ll never forget.