Eager youth (and bird) welcome Bernie to PDX

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic contender for U.S. president, visited Portland this past Friday, March 25, rocking the Moda Center with loud cheers and stomps of supporters. Many Portlanders turned out for the campaign stop, filling the lower arena bowl with an estimated 11,500 people.

Doors opened at about ten o’clock in the morning, and people were lined up around the Rose Quarter as early as six in the morning, as the event was on a first-come, first-serve basis. Standing in the lines were a diverse range of Portlanders, though most notable was a large share of young people. It seemed that youths, even many too young to vote, had flocked to the event in support.

That many young supporters rallied came as little surprise. It is widely known that Sanders’ success thus far in the 2016 election owes in part to his high popularity among young voters, as well as young people. This also seemed true at Portland’s rally.

When Sanders took the podium after a speech from The Dandy Warhols’ keyboardist Zia McCabe and a performance by The Thermals, he soon struck every Oregonian’s nerve when he pronounced the state name wrong. He corrected himself only after a few shouts of correction from the crowd and a long, silent pause. The crowd laughed in the end, and he went on to coax loud, stomping cheers and standing ovations as he spoke.

Most talked about following Friday’s rally was the amusing moment that went viral shortly after the rally concluded.

For hours, as the crowd waited in their seats for the event, a small bird was noticed occasionally flying from one rafter to another inside the arena. About halfway through Sanders’ speech, he again paused when he saw the bird flying around the stage, until it landed atop his campaign sign on the lectern, and stared right at the presidential candidate.

At this, Sanders’ supporters went absolutely wild, their cheers not deterring the small bird as it stood at its perch.

Finally, the Vermont senator said, “I think there may be some symbolism here: I know it doesn’t look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace.” Soon after, the bird departed, and the speech continued.

For registered voters, Oregon’s presidential primary election is on May 17.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary is April 26.

Advocate Staff