Marie Anderson had a view from the front.

Anderson, the chairwoman of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, attended Sunday's rally for presidential hopeful Barack Obama at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville.

"I just really wanted to be a part of it and see what everybody had to offer and what all the speakers had to say," she said.

"There really was a good crowd. We had some fantastic speakers like John Lewis, who was wonderful as he always is."

Anderson got to sit up close after volunteering her time to help with the event, working to recruit organizations and set up tables.
Forsyth County and much of North Georgia votes overwhelmingly Republican, but Anderson said the turnout at Sunday's rally was no indication of that.

"That's what was so exciting about it, is that we did have such a good turnout in what is typically thought of as a Republican area," she said. "There was a great spirit there."

Anderson said Obama supporters came from across the area. Speaker, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis, all brought something different to the rally, but the message was simple, she said.

"Everything is within reach for us right now, but we have to make it happen."