Obama "fires up" thousands before Iowa poll

By Deborah Charles

WATERLOO, Ia. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama fired up thousands of supporters across Iowa on Wednesday, one day before the first of state-by-state votes to pick nominees for the 2008 White House race.

Obama supporters filled gymnasiums and hotel ballrooms from Davenport to Des Moines and cheered and roared their support for the senator from Illinois.

"Fired up?" Obama asked about 1,200 people packed into a high school gymnasium in the town of Waterloo, northeast of Des Moines.

"Fired up!" they yelled back.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Ready to go!" they yelled.

The chant has become sort of an unofficial slogan of Obama's campaign and as usual it managed to rev up the crowd on a cold winter night.

A few hours later in Des Moines, upward of 2,000 people packed into Hoover High School for a late-night rally.

"O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma" the crowd chanted as Obama asked who could help the country change.

"We need to try something new, we need change we can believe in, that's why I'm running for president of the United States," he said earlier in Davenport.

Big crowds turned out in all five cities on Obama's last day of campaigning before the vote on Thursday.

Polls show Obama, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina senator John Edwards locked in a tight race for the Democratic nomination.

In his fifth and final campaign event of the day in Des Moines, Obama sounded hoarse but still managed to yell above the crowd's chants and explained what he called "an unlikely journey to change America."

"If we're going to make our mark on history, this spirit of possibility ... this spirit of hope has to shine through," he said. "This is our moment. This is our time. And Iowa, if you will stand with me ... we won't just win this caucus, we will win this primary and we will win this general election."

Obama, who has strong support in polls among young people and first-time caucus-goers, specifically urged them to come out and vote. He noted that some pundits were questioning whether first-time voters would turn out.