So, consider these two stories:
- Barack Obama, Bowling Green, 09/26/2012: “President Barack Obama urged more than 5,000 students and supporters at the Stroh Center Wednesday afternoon to register to vote and cast their ballots early as part of his tour of Ohio campuses weeks before election day.” (The BG News, “Obama speaks to crowd of more than 5,000 at Stroh Center”)
- Mitt Romney, Toledo, OH, 09/26/2012: “Lucas County Republican Party Chairman Jon Stainbrook estimated the crowd in the downtown convention center at just more than 4,000.” (The Toledo Blade, “Romney backers fill SeaGate Centre”)
Sounds like both candidates are out there, drawing reasonable crowds, filling their spaces: I think we can all agree that Barack is a run or two up – but that the two of them were in the same ballpark on Wednesday, right?
So why the heck did I have to look it up in local news to get the crowd sizes?
It just seems strange that this specific information was reported in the national news. Can’t figure out why it was like this…
Barack Obama, Columbus, OH, September 2, 2008: “Thousands of people jam packed a Columbus area suburb football stadium on Saturday afternoon. Dublin Coffman High School hosted the event. The Obama campaign sent an email to subscribers on Wednesday, August 27, advising Obama supporters of the rally. The event was announced as no ticket required, but requested an RSVP via the campaign’s official website. As of Friday night it was estimated that ten thousand people had sent a notice that they would be in attendance. The number of people responding after news of the visit was reported on local news stations increased to an expected twenty thousand.” (Yahoo News, “Obama Rallies Thousands at an Ohio High School Stadium”)
…Well. Maybe I can.
Moe Lane
that’s ridiculous that Obama is drawing the same size crowds as Romney. Romney should be drawing much higher crowds…
I bet it was obvious to you, Moe, the bias even in the local news reporting. Obama gets a “more than 5,000 students and supporters,” rah, rah all the way, and Romney gets the “at just more than 4,000.” Though Romney’s headline was positive sounding.
The insidious media bias drives me crazy, but it is interesting to see the change in the Obama venue numbers from 2008 to 2012. He was just here in Virginia Beach, under 7,000 in a venue which could have held 20,000. I can also tell you anecdotally, that in 08 we were saturated with Obama signs and stickers by this point, today, hardly a sticker and no signs. Couldn’t find any numbers for 08 rallies.
Lady Penguin: I think that it’s going to be necessary for folks to make sure that crowd sizes between now and the election get disseminated, for both sides. If we don’t talk about them, who will?
Toledo based talk radio (WSPD) did mention that the protesters at the Romney event there were being paid $11/hr and had come from as far away as Cleveland (about an hour and a half drive) and has video on their website.
I have to correct myself, that was the Cleveland event, not the Toledo event.
$11 an hour to protest Romney? That’s a helluva deal in the Obama economy. Where do I sign up for that? I could really use the money……. (do I need to add the sarc tags? Because I really could use the money, but not that way….)
This stuff is beginning to really piss me off. Romney protesters are being paid, I’ve run across it before. So O’Bama is losing and trying to make it look like Romney is. LIKE I SAID IT’S REALLY BEGINNING TO PISS ME OFF! Sorry for the language Moe. That in essence is O’Bama’s problem he is angering the people he doesn’t want to show up at the polls on Nov. 6th and making it more likely they will, while filling his followers with False confidence of his victory, and making it more likely they won’t show up, because they think he’ll win without them. God but I HATE the dishonest press! And Qixiqatl I’d signup too. Money’s money.
A vote for Obama is a vote to affirm the status quo, all the stinking heaping rotting corpse of status quo garbage that Team Obama is sweeping under the rug:
The Jobs Deficit – the millions who gave up even looking on TOP of the 8% unemployed
The Trade Deficit – hundreds of billions we owe to China and others each year, with no serious plan to fix this.
The Budget Deficit – over $1 trillion in deficits per year, $6 trillion in new debt under Obama, and Obama plans to make us the next Greece by adding $10 trillion more by 2022.
The Growth Deficit – an economy growing only 1.25% last quarter, the worst recover in 75 years, and an economy well below its potential. Obama has no new plan for growth.
The press papers over the truth and offers us the Potemkin Village Campaign of Obama On Top No Matter What. If the parlor trick works in keeping the Obama coalition convinced to re-elect the failed charlatan on the basis of how great his campaign is compared to the clay feet of mere mortal Mitt, the truth will still be stubbornly there on the Day After.
Time for my joke again:
Q: What’s the difference between the Russian mainstream media and the American?
A: One has to spin for their leader, the other wants to.