Rallies test mettle of candidate supporters

Associated Press

BOB LEWIS, AP Political Writer

Updated: Oct 28, 2012 10:09 AM

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the 15,000 people who waited in a brilliant sun for up to six hours last week for President Barack Obama to speak, a little trip to the polls on election day is nothing.

In modern politics, rallies are both a test of endurance and a show of support for candidates, but they also test the resilience of public safety workers assigned to keep order and protect health.

At Obama's rally Thursday, dozens of people needed medical attention, many of them for dehydration. They were penned into a shadeless basin about 50 feet wide that stretches about 150 yards north from Richmond's Carillon tower in Byrd Park.

But for 37-year-old Daquan Reinhardt and his 11-year-old son Dakari, it was worth it to see the president they support in person.

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