ALEXANDRIA, Va. - One year ago, Sen. Barack Obama announced he was running to be the next President of the United States. Twelve months later, speaking to a diverse Northern Virginia crowd yesterday that overflowed from the high school gym into two other rooms, Obama gave one of his final appeals to an audience essential to his winning in Virginia on Tuesday.

Demographic diversity was a common theme at this rally, where the large crowd appeared to be well represented by whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians. In this diverse, Democrat voter-rich area of Virginia that has provided the winning margin for Democratic candidates in recent statewide elections, Obama's support across racial lines could prove the difference on February 12.

Herman Boone, whom Obama said was "better looking than Denzel," came out to support the candidate. Boone was the head football coach portrayed by Denzel Washington in the 2000 film "Remember the Titans," which was based on the 1971 integration of T.C. Williams High School, where the rally took place.

"That is one of my favorite recent films," Obama said in remarks to reporters prior to the rally. Later, in front of the crowd, he pointed out Boone and described the film as one "of those movies that make men cry."

Introducing Obama to the crowd was Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who serves as one of Obama's national campaign co-chairs. Obama campaigned for Kaine in the months leading up to his being elected governor in 2005. Kaine returned the favor Feb. 9, 2007, by announcing his support for Obama, one day before Obama delivered his campaign entrance speech on the steps of the Illinois Capitol. As a popular Democratic governor of a traditionally red state, Kaine has been mentioned as a possible running mate for Obama, should he win the nomination.

Kaine called Obama a "unifier at a time we are so divided." He mentioned Obama's victories in the three state caucuses that took place February 9 in Washington, Nebraska and Louisiana. All three states have voted quite differently from each other in recent presidential elections; Kaine described them as blue, red and purple, respectively.

Before speaking his next few lines in fluent Spanish, Kaine said Obama's "story is as inspiring as 'Remember the Titans.'"

Close to five minutes into Obama's speech the crowd remained on its feet. Obama finally told the crowd to "relax" and "take a load off."

"We are seeing extraordinary turnout throughout the election process," said Obama, who stated the reason for this is partly because voters know President Bush will not be on the ballot again. "And my cousin Dick Cheney won't be on there either," he said jokingly, referring to the report that he and the Vice President are distant cousins.

Obama described the scale of issues, most often related to the economy, which people that he has encountered over the past year deal with. "My job on this campaign has been to convince you that change is possible if you are ready for change," he said.

He brought up criticism he has received throughout the campaign from Sen. Hillary Clinton, without mentioning her name.

"Obama is a talker, not a doer," Obama said others have said about him. "'He's pedaling false hopes. He's a hope monger.' It's true I do talk about hope a lot." But, he said, "hope is not blind optimism. It's not being ignorant of the barriers standing between you and your dreams."

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with the crowd following his speech, Obama directly made his case against Clinton.

"She is a smart person, a capable person. She would be a vast improvement over the incumbent," he said about Clinton. "What is also true is it is very hard for her to break out of the politics of the last 15 years. A politics where 47% is on one side, 47% on the other. ... Even if you win you don't have a working majority to make change."

Obama mentioned the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, and the trouble President Bill Clinton had in passing the legislation his administration supported.

"They didn't have a working majority. ... That's the only way we are going to deliver on the policy promises that have been made. We both want universal health care coverage, but unless we have a working majority those things won't happen."

When a woman in the crowd, who admitted to being on the rope between Obama and Clinton, asked Obama to convince her to vote for him, he said: "I can beat John McCain more effectively than Hillary Clinton can. I can win more independent and Republican votes. She starts off with 47% of the country against her. That's a hard place to start."

Obama gave four reasons why he would make a better president than any other candidate, including his "ability to bring people together," his ability to "overcome the special interests," and the fact that he tells "you not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear."

The fourth reason he gave was: "The day I'm inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently, and it sees somebody different as president. ... 'The 44th [president], he has a funny name like me.' It changes our perceptions in this country, but also the perceptions overseas. That's not just symbolic."

Prior to the rally, Obama held a press-only roundtable discussion in the school cafeteria, where he spoke with five parents of school-age children in Alexandria and Arlington County about the concerns they have regarding their children's education. The diverse group of parents brought up access to universal pre-kindergarten, which Kaine has been pushing in the Virginia Legislature, college affordability, special education, and teacher recruitment and assessment.

Obama expressed dismay with the No Child Left Behind Act, which he said has "left millions of children behind." He emphasized the importance of parents' participation in their children's learning, of early childhood education for all students, and a $4,000 tax credit for college for students who participate in community or national service.

Showing that he understood what parents go through with early teenage children, Obama said, "I was terrible at that age. 7th and 8th grade. I don't know how my mom handled me."

Whether he was able to prove he understands and is able to solve the needs of this demographically-diverse Northern Virginia population could possibly swing this Tuesday's election one way or the other. A big win in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. could provide a comfortable margin of pledged delegates heading into the upcoming primaries.