Weekend rally rundown

In case you've been on vacation this week, I thought you should know that Washington, D.C. hosted rallies by two high profile personalities today: Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton. Below is a quick media rundown:

-According to CNN, Sharpton predicted that Conservatives are in for a fight this November, while education secretary Arne Duncan said that eduction is "the civil rights issue of our generation."

-The New York Times reports that while Beck said his rally would not be political, events he was a part of on Friday were. The Times also reports on the rally's strong religious overtones.

-USA Today updated the Beck event throughout the day, and highlighted some attendees:

Many in the crowd seem to share the views of Greg Moeller, 46, of Story City, Iowa. He drove with two other families the 19 hours to reach D.C. because he is worried about the economic future for his children.

"Our budgets are out of control. We have a national debt that is almost unpayable." Moeller sat on a blanket with his son Joshua, 12, listening as people chanted "USA, USA."

-According to the Associated Press, there is no way to officially know how many people attended Beck's rally, as the National Parks Service stopped doing crowd counts in 1997 after the agency was accused of underestimating numbers for the 1995 Million Man March. However, the AP does reference the crowd as "tens of thousands."

-Politico also covers the attendance number, but in more depth.

-The Washington Post covered the Beck event live too, with colorful imagery and more attendee profiles:

Connie Lowe is 47, a homemaker from Parrish, N.Y., who has never voted but plans to do so this fall, moved by a new energy in the country she can't quite explain.

"It's the economy today," she said. " I want my son" -- 8-year-old Alexander -- "to grow up and be able to get a degree and get a job."

-ABC news has a backstage interview with Sarah Palin at the Beck rally. When asked how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would feel about the event, Palin responded: "I hope that Dr. King would be so proud of us, as his niece Dr. Alveda King is very proud as a participant in this rally. This is sacred ground where we feel his spirit and can appreciate all of his efforts. He who so believed in equality and may we live up to his challenge."

-Politico reports that Sharpton's rally "was centered on the idea of 'reclaiming the dream' — from Beck and his supporters, specifically." Sharpton's rally included many other references to Beck's gathering across town:

"The folks who criticize our marches are now trying to march themselves," Sharpton said. "They may have the mall, but we have the message. They may have the platform, but we have the dream. The dream was not state rights."

Also...

"Never again will we allow our history to be stolen or robbed by other people!" Dunbar High principal Steven Jackson declared to the roaring crowd.

And...

"Glenn Beck's march will change nothing. But you can't blame Glenn Beck for his march envy. His message can't match ours," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said, before organizers cut her microphone because she was running overtime.