Obama Draws Less Than a Full House? (Wizbang)

Hmm. I don't know if this means anything or not, but for what it is worth (from Jim Hoft):

CNN reported today that a group of "plumbers" waved plungers at Obama in Virginia...They were all wearing "I am Joe the Plumber" shirts. There were no reports on half moon sightings when they bent over.

About 6,500 showed up to see The One. The center holds 10,500. The crowd booed McCain- This did not appear to make any national headlines.

When I saw Sarah Palin here in NC she packed out an arena that held around 8,000. Many stood in line from 11 a.m. to get a good seat -- doors weren't scheduled to open until 4, but they opened a little early because it took so long to get all those people through security. Palin didn't speak until around 7 p.m. McCain was here earlier this week and Palin was here again yesterday. Tomorrow McCain will be back, appearing outside of Charlotte. On Sunday Obama will be here, in Fayetteville. I am hearing that McCain's increased attention to NC is paying off, but have not seen any recent polls. Most are from a week or so ago and they show a dead heat. NC's demographics have changed a lot in recent years with an influx of new residents. Just prior to primary election day, Hillary appeared to be catching up to Obama in the polls, but he easily won by double digits. I think that means polls may be underestimating his support here, so regardless of what the polls are showing, each candidate would be smart to pay as much attention as possible to NC these next two weeks.

Update: Read Rebekah's story about her Palin experience.

Comments (22)

Yeah...you might want to ch... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by jp2 | October 17, 2008 10:48 PM | Score: -13 (15 votes cast)

jp2:

Yeah...you might want to check your sources, Lorie.

"Outside the Coliseum, many braved the elements all morning, the rain hasn't deterred people from showing up. The Coliseum holds about 10,000 people and it is filled to capacity right now. The crowd is very energized, but the excitement actually started outside. The doors opened at 10:00am. The line wrapped all the way around the building."

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/1008/562253.html

Again, relying on other right-wing blogs is probably not great for accuracy.

Posted on October 17, 2008 22:48

And relying on hyperbole fr... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by StevefromMKE | October 17, 2008 10:55 PM | Score: 6 (8 votes cast)

StevefromMKE:

And relying on hyperbole from left-wing blogs, is good for the soul, huh jp2?

Posted on October 17, 2008 22:55

The McCain rally in Virgini... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Rebekah | October 17, 2008 11:00 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)

Rebekah:

The McCain rally in Virginia Beach on the 13th was packed. It didn't start till 10AM, but we were the first people in line at 4. And there were many who got there right after us.

We were right next to the stage, and Gov. Palin autographed my prosthetic leg. I actually wrote a letter about it to The Frontiersman, her hometown paper, and it ran today with a photo. http://tinyurl.com/63thcz.

Posted on October 17, 2008 23:00

Darn, remove the period fro... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Rebekah | October 17, 2008 11:04 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Darn, remove the period from the end of that link.

Posted on October 17, 2008 23:04

Obama didn't have a band o... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by hvywgt | October 17, 2008 11:11 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

hvywgt:

Obama didn't have a band opening for him this time?

Posted on October 17, 2008 23:11

My guess is the bloom has l... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by bill-tb | October 17, 2008 11:17 PM | Score: 4 (6 votes cast)

bill-tb:

My guess is the bloom has long since left the rose. Who would vote for a friend of a terrorist.

Posted on October 17, 2008 23:17

What a great story Rebekah!... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by Lorie Byrd | October 17, 2008 11:25 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Lorie Byrd:

What a great story Rebekah! I am adding a link to it in my "Truly Special" post.

Posted on October 17, 2008 23:25

I think even the most arden... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by StevefromMKE | October 17, 2008 11:57 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)

I think even the most ardent Obama supporters, especially where I work, when confronted by the whole destruction mode they see Obama and his media minions go after Joe the Plumber, the more they think a little harder about things.

Ask a question of Barack and he MUBAR's the answer, expect a media anal exam. That's a good thing in a country that has Freedom of Speech?

Discourse and dissent are fine, but if you can't ask a politician a question without getting destroyed, there's something wrong here.

Posted on October 17, 2008 23:57

Rebekah, that was simply aw... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by Son Of The Godfather | October 18, 2008 12:13 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Son Of The Godfather:

Rebekah, that was simply awesome!

Posted on October 18, 2008 00:13

Was this the same rally?</p... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by jp2 | October 18, 2008 12:50 AM | Score: -8 (8 votes cast)

Was this the same rally?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPg0VCg4AEQ&eurl=

Class.

Posted on October 18, 2008 00:50

jp2, I hope you've... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by Chip | October 18, 2008 1:25 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Chip:

jp2,

I hope you've taken special note of how Joe the plumber has been treated after asking the Messiah a question, because just think, if he ever does get into power, what might happen to you if you EVER question anything he does. Think it's far fetched? Ask Joe if he thought he'd get this kind of treatment for asking a question of a politician in America.

Posted on October 18, 2008 01:25

It's been very exciting in ... (Below threshold)

12. Posted by Candy | October 18, 2008 2:31 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Candy:

It's been very exciting in Maine, where both of the Palin's recently visited. We have such a tiny amount of electoral votes that we hardly expected this much attention. Both of them are very gracious. My eldest daughter was able to speak briefly with Sarah and get her autograph, and it meant a lot to her.

Meanwhile - as a Christian, I can't tell you how sickening it is to see ANYONE on earth referred to as the Messiah. The more I see of it, the more sickened I become. Much of it is clearly in jest, but to think that people are truly believing this...

Posted on October 18, 2008 02:31

During the Al Smith ... (Below threshold)

13. Posted by Larry | October 18, 2008 7:43 AM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)

Larry:

During the Al Smith roast, Obama said he wasn't born in a manger. The camera quickly switched to the Cardinal who, upon hearing the remark, got a sour look on his face. I don't think he thought it was funny.

Posted on October 18, 2008 07:43

Obama peaked to soon. I hav... (Below threshold)

14. Posted by WildWillie | October 18, 2008 10:18 AM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)

WildWillie:

Obama peaked to soon. I have scene it in many past elections. He has saturated the media and people just get tired of hearing him to a point it seems he is whining. So my advise to Obama, keep it up. Use 30 minutes of prime time and piss off all the people whose shows you delayed. I am loving this. I want the left to continue to be cocky and arrogant. I want the left to keep telling people the world loves Obama. ww

Posted on October 18, 2008 10:18

He not only peaked too soon... (Below threshold)

15. Posted by ECM | October 18, 2008 11:24 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

ECM:

He not only peaked too soon, but a great many people are currently suffering from an acute case of Obama fatigue brought on by an even more acute case of Obama-mania.

Posted on October 18, 2008 11:24

"When I saw Sarah Palin her... (Below threshold)

16. Posted by Herman | October 18, 2008 11:59 AM | Score: -2 (2 votes cast)

Herman:

"When I saw Sarah Palin here in NC she packed out an arena that held around 8,000. Many stood in line from 11 a.m. to get a good seat -- doors weren't scheduled to open until 4, but they opened a little early because it took so long to get all those people through security." -- Lorie

The Republican adoration for completely incoherent idiots (for Palin, see Katie Couric interview) is both fascinating and troubling. Religious fundies, I guess, find it more important that she wants raped women to give birth to their rapists' children (after, of course, paying for the rape kits) than that "there's no there there." NRA nuts love that she has wolves brutally murdered by bullets fired from low-flying planes and don't care that "Mrs. Joe Sixpack" is one can short. But did it ever occur to you, Republicans, that the same qualities you like in Palin may be turning off independents? Could this be a reason, you suppose, that you're so far behind in the polls?

Think about it, conservatives.

Posted on October 18, 2008 11:59

"The Republican adoration f... (Below threshold)

17. Posted by LaMedusa | October 18, 2008 12:03 PM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)

LaMedusa:

"The Republican adoration for completely incoherent idiots..."

No, they don't adore you, Herman. More blathering rhetoric.

Posted on October 18, 2008 12:03

Yup only 6500 showed up the... (Below threshold)

18. Posted by JFO | October 18, 2008 3:15 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)

JFO:

Yup only 6500 showed up there and 100,000 showed up in St Louis today. Our guy is just losing it isn't he? LOL

Posted on October 18, 2008 15:15

Q: what's the difference be... (Below threshold)

19. Posted by Barack Obama | October 18, 2008 5:40 PM | Score: -2 (2 votes cast)

Barack Obama:

Q: what's the difference between Sarah Palin's mouth and her vagina?
A: Only some of the things that come out of her vagina are retarded.

Have a nice day, losers.

Posted on October 18, 2008 17:40

Where do you get your numbe... (Below threshold)

20. Posted by billy mcmcmc | October 19, 2008 12:18 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

billy mcmcmc:

Where do you get your numbers from? No I mean really, where? The point being that there is not a single other site that is not referencing another politically affiliated blog, that says there were anything less then a full house during the speech. I DARE you to try to find a SINGLE news source (fact: a news source is a non politicly affiliated source that at the very very least does not have ad's on their sight for only politically oriented sights) that says the turnout was anything near the 6,500 you claim.

Posted on October 19, 2008 00:18

Wait, I just looked a bit d... (Below threshold)

21. Posted by billy mcmcmc | October 19, 2008 12:27 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Wait, I just looked a bit deeper and got this...

"the crowd of about 8,250 - according to an official from the Roanoke fire marshal's office"

So whats up? Is anyone that blogs here going to post a retraction? Is that what news sources do? If you make an honest (i am looking at you) mistake with numbers you post a retraction right?

I thought so.

Posted on October 19, 2008 00:27

What? No overflow crowds? ... (Below threshold)

22. Posted by JLawson | October 20, 2008 10:31 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

JLawson:

What? No overflow crowds? No chanting throngs for The One?

Could the gloss be wearing off?

Posted on October 20, 2008 10:31