Sen. Barack Obama drew a massive crowd to the Liberty Memorial on Saturday.</p><p>Even Calvin Coolidge would have been impressed.</p><p>For the record, Coolidge still is credited with drawing larger crowds to the memorial.</p><p>Then-Vice President Coolidge and an array of military leaders drew more than 100,000 to the dedication of the memorial site in November 1921.</p><p>Five years later, on Nov. 11, 1926, Coolidge returned as the president of the United States for the opening of the Liberty Memorial monument, addressing an even bigger crowd of 150,000.</p><p>However, there is no question Obama drew a much more diverse crowd than Coolidge did. The crowd of perhaps 75,000 on hand Saturday was drawn by the historic implications of the senator&#8217;s presidential campaign.</p><p>I parked on the city&#8217;s West Side and walked up that steep hill on the west side of Penn Valley Park toward the memorial plaza. Many attendees who chose that route took breaks on the way up, pausing to talk politics.</p><p>Allen Bradley, a Kansas City, Kan., firefighter, caught his breath while sitting in a chair that he brought along.</p><p>&#8220;This is history,&#8221; Bradley said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not history just because he&#8217;s a black man. It&#8217;s historic because this man is talking about changing the lives of lower-economic people.&#8221;</p><p>They say a little child shall lead them, and that was certainly the case for Cassandra White.</p><p>If it weren&#8217;t for the urging of her daughter, Cireena White, a 13-year-old who attends Irving Middle School in the Hickman Mills district, Cassandra White might never have faced that hill.</p><p>After the climb, mother and daughter stood at the back of the line, which started at the entrance to the memorial and snaked its way north to 31st Street before trailing back to the memorial entrance. Neither the hill nor the line mattered to mother and daughter.</p><p>&#8220;This is a moment to remember in history,&#8221; Cassandra White said. &#8220;I want my daughter to grow up and say she was here. I&#8217;m just happy to be a part of it.&#8221;</p><p>By the time those at the tail end of the crowd made it onto the memorial grounds, they could barely see, much less hear. For those close enough, they heard Obama strike the same political chords he&#8217;s been sounding with success on the campaign trail and in the debates: He&#8217;s the steady hand needed to guide America through tough times.</p><p>&#8220;The American story has never been about things coming easy,&#8221; Obama said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been about rising to the occasion when the moment is hard. I believe America can meet this moment. &#8230; It won&#8217;t be easy. It won&#8217;t be quick. But there is no reason why we can&#8217;t make this century another American century. I know this, Missouri. It will take a new direction.&#8221;</p><p>Myra Harper stood on a table waving an Obama-Biden sign during the entire program. After Obama concluded his remarks, she was ready to head to the polls.</p><p>&#8220;The speech was absolutely awesome,&#8221; Harper said. &#8220;I feel like I&#8217;m a part of history.</p><p>&#8220;Every time I hear him speak, it touches my soul. I see the kind of America that I have always known was possible. And he is part of that.&#8221;</p><p>If Obama goes on to win the general election, he may want to plan a return visit.</p><p>After all, Coolidge came here as a vice president then returned as president and drew an even bigger crowd. If you&#8217;re Obama and you believe in a bit of luck or karma, you might be inclined to think there&#8217;s something to that.</p><p>Indeed, if you asked the people who attended the speech on Saturday, they would say there probably is. They would call it destiny.