Obama stirs up S.F. crowd

SAN FRANCISCO – Before more than 5,000 people in a raucous, late-night rally, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama issued a passionate call Wednesday to end the war in Iraq, stop the U.S. practice of torture and advance racial equality and gay rights in America.

Introduced by author Alice Walker as a man who will bring "compassion and decent leadership" to the world, Obama said that as president he would enact policies to reverse the course of "a nation at war" and "a planet in peril."

To thunderous cheers, he evoked the late Martin Luther King Jr.'s cry of "the fierce urgency of now," saying: "As president I will end the war in Iraq. I will bring the troops home. They will be home in 16 months. ... America, San Francisco. Our moment is now. You can't wait any longer. Our moment to bring about change is now."

The rally followed a town hall meeting before some 1,500 people at Google headquarters in Mountain View. There, Obama called for suspending military aid to Pakistan until the U.S. ally in the war on terror ends its state of emergency and embraces a return to democratic rule. Meanwhile, he said as president he would create a high-tech agenda to bring openness and transparency to American democracy after seven years of "one of the most secretive administrations in our history."

Meanwhile, he called for internal diplomacy in Iraq and regional diplomacy to end the conflict there and stop neighboring Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He charged that the Bush administration's stance that "not talking to leaders we don't like makes us look tough is fundamentally wrong."

He criticized Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for suspending civil liberties and jailing political foes, calling it a mistake to "latch onto authoritarian, non-democratic rule" in the belief that it can combat "Islamic extremism."

The Illinois senator's appearance followed previous Google town halls for New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Arizona Sen. John McCain. The Illinois senator said he would appoint a "chief technology officer" to open up America's government by giving citizens heightened access to information.

With stern criticism of President Bush, Obama called for creating "a 21st century standard" that would give average citizens "real-time" access to seek information and question governmental officials.

Obama appeared later Wednesday at an upscale fundraiser at the Menlo Park home of former eBay executive and 2006 gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly. The 300 guests included actress Michelle Pfeiffer and former 49ers football star Ronnie Lott.

Later, thousands crowded into the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for a rally costing $15 to $30 a person. The event drew a bus full of Obama supporters from Sacramento, including local organizer Dustin Schwindt. "Some people are excited because he is a popular figure," Schwindt said. "But more and more I notice he's backing up that image with substance."

Obama's campaign swing came on the eve of today's Democratic candidates' debate in Las Vegas. It also followed his campaign's release Tuesday night of a pointed strategy memo, in which campaign manager David Plouffe openly questioned whether two other top Democrats – Clinton and Edwards – were too divisive to get elected.

Plouffe argued Obama is gaining strength "at Sen. Clinton's expense" as voters tune into the Democratic race in early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. "Clinton is likely to unite the GOP against her candidacy as well as her presidency," he wrote.

Clinton's California campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino answered back: "Perhaps if the Obama campaign spent more time explaining what he would do as president than attacking fellow Democrats, his campaign will be doing a bit better in the polls," he said.

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• Call Peter Hecht, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5539.