David Ghan/The Falcon Senator Barack Obama speaks in front of 18,000 in Key Arena Friday afternoon. Obama won Saturday’s caucus’.

Over 18,000 people rose to their feet, erupting into applause Friday afternoon as Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., was introduced at Key Arena by Governor Christine Gregoire.

Freshman Michelle Covington was part of the excitement, cheering for Obama, a Democratic candidate for president, as he gave his stump speech the day before winning the Washington state caucus.

Covington was one of many SPU students who attended the rally, by far the most successful and popular of the three presidential candidates who appeared in Seattle.

Gregoire was present on stage during Obama's speech alongside Congressman Adam Smith and Mayor Greg Nickels. Gregiore, Smith and Obama received standing ovations. Nickels was booed after his introduction.

Obama spoke for an hour, touching on big issues such as the war in Iraq, universal health care and the economy.

"Seattle, I was betting on you," Obama said in his speech. "I'm here to report that my bet has paid off."

Obama mentioned the strong presence of young voters and encouraged them to participate in the political process.

"We're ready to change America," he said. "Young people have come out as never before, and I say thank you."

Supporters held up signs with his signature slogan, "Change we can believe in," as he spoke about his platforms, from economic and education reform to terrorism.

"I know how hard it will be to change America," Obama said. "If it was easy, it would have been fixed."

Andy Scott/The Falcon A Seattle police offi cer patrols the line evolving outside of Key Arena. Nearly 20,000 people showed up in order to hear Senator Barack Obama speak the day before Seattle’s caucus.

Fellow Democratic candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., had 5,000 supporters at a rally Thursday night, which Covington also attended, but was defeated by a large margin in the caucus.

Republican candidate John McCain held a small gathering Friday night at the downtown Westin Hotel, with 400 people attending.

Covington said that the Clinton rally didn't hold the same excitement felt at Obama's event, and that Clinton's speeches on healthcare, finance and the environment weren't as genuine as Obama's.

"He's [Obama] my guy," she said. "He cares so much more."

Covington said she arrived at Key Arena at 7:45 a.m., more than three hours before the doors for the event opened. Obama spoke at 1 p.m., and more than 3,000 people were turned away.

Before his speech, Obama briefly spoke outside to those who couldn't get a seat inside.

"Teens think politics are an old person thing, but Obama is getting young people excited," Covington said. "He has the ability to get people mobilized."

Covington said she was almost fully decided on Obama before she attended both rallies, but wanted to give both candidates a chance to speak.

"At the Clinton rally it was obvious that she didn't put the same effort into winning Washington," she said.

Junior Jason Williams, the president of the Young Democrats Club, also attended both the Clinton and Obama rally, but was more impressed with Clinton's speech.

"It was the first time I've heard genuine softness in her voice," he said. "I saw a lot of people that expected Hillary to be an agent of change."

Williams said that, at the Clinton rally, he saw people with hands raised in the air, cheering as Clinton spoke about her ability to understand and empathize with what the middle class wants.

"Hillary sounded passionate and compassionate," he said.

Williams said that Obama's rally had a better production, with pop music and video clips playing, to cater to the younger crowd, but that many prominent politicians, including King County Executive Ron Simms, former Governor Gary Locke, and Senator Maria Cantwell came to show their support for Clinton.

Absent from the Clinton rally was Governor Christine Gregoire, who publicly endorsed Obama at his event.

"I've come to announce my endorsement of the next president of the United States," Gregoire said. "When he leaves Washington state, he'll take wonderful memories with him."

Freshman Joe Starmer also attended the Obama rally, and said that there was a lot of excitement surrounding the event, and the opportunity to check out a candidate in a more lively and personal setting.

Starmer, who will be voting for the first time in the next election, said he found out about the rally from the Seattle Times, and ended up skipping his class.

"This is historically significant, and it was a great experience," he said.

2006 alumna Jessica Liddle, who went to Obama's speech and McCain's speech Friday night, said that, while the crowd size was considerably different, audience responses to topics such as the war in Iraq were the same.

She said the Westin Hotel's grand ballroom was filled to capacity, and that McCain's event seemed more family style.

"It almost made it feel more like you could trust him," she said.

Liddle, who works at the Discovery Institute, a conservative think tank, said the age group for McCain was more diverse than Obama's, with people in their early 20s to their late 40s in attendance.

"McCain seemed more pragmatic, focusing on tax cuts and the war, while Obama focused more on ideals and how he was going to change the country," she said.

Reed Davis, professor of political science, was at the Obama rally to be interviewed by Fox News before the event started. Davis, former chairman for the King County Republican Party, said he left before the event started and didn't attend McCain's or Clinton's rallies.

Davis said he's not surprised in the student support for Obama, but hopes they will pay attention to his platforms.

"I want them [students] to take stock in what he'd do if he got in office," he said. "Politics is more than raw enthusiasm, and they shouldn't check reason at the door."