Hamden – Democrats from around Connecticut gathered in Hamden today to kick-off the final leg of the Obama for America Presidential campaign. Speakers included Sen. Chris Dodd, Representatives John Larson, Rosa DeLauro, Joe Courtney and Chris Murphy as well as Congressional candidate Jim Himes.

A highlight of the rally was a video Jen Just made of her experiences in Denver.

Besides the major speakers, Constitutional Officers, State Legislators activists and people from all walks of life attended. The auditorium was filled to capacity, as was the cafeteria and many of the halls. Depending on who you spoke with, between 1,200 and 2,000 people were in attendance.

There was voter registration, places to sign up to help not only the Obama campaign, but various Congressional campaigns, and advocacy groups. Joe Courtney spoke about the importance of registering new voters and how important each vote is, after his experience in an extremely close election. Rosa DeLauro received very loud applause as she came up to speak, and Sen. Chris Dodd noted that if all that Palin is doing is attacking, then she isn’t bringing anything new to Washington.

Many members of the new media, including Lon Seidman, Connecticut Bob and Gabe from CT Local Politics as well as many members of My Left Nutmeg were all at the event.

Additional pictures can be found in my photoset from the event.