Obama holds public rally in Oakland CA

SF Chronicle:

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, appearing before an adoring crowd in Oakland, one of the state's largest African American communities, delivered a rousing call Saturday evening for an end to the Iraq war, saying "we can't continue this occupation" because America has got "business right here at home.''
...

Obama's Oakland stop was a unique event for Californians watching the 2008 presidential race -- one populated by real voters who did not have to pay to see their candidate.

"Most of these candidates skip over Oakland like we're not here, and go to San Jose or San Francisco,'' said Joseph Sheppard, 50, of Oakland, as he sat with his mother and his wife at the rally. "Being a black man and watching this, it's wonderful.''

California has seen a flurry of presidential campaign activity in recent weeks -- most of it under-the-radar fundraising events. On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain crisscrossed the state last week without a single public event, as did former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- both intent on raising money for the March 31 federal campaign elections deadline.

Clinton arrives in California next week but has so far announced no public events. She will do three back-to-back fundraisers on March 25.

I'm not a campaign manager or anything, but limiting the public appearances so that you can rake in the cash sounds like a strategy that will eventually backfire. Some people just want to SEE the candidates (even if from a distance) without paying thousands of dollars. I'm glad Obama took the time, hopefully Hillary will make a public stop soon too. Daily Kos and Lane Hartwell covered the Obama event as well.