Obama supporters turn up at Clinton events; Obama Trounces Clintons in Crowd Turnout

My friend Dianne Piche (and fellow Democrats for Education Reform board member), with some great comments as well:

1.  Obama supporters turn up at Clinton events:

 

In two separate reports this weekend, we learned that turnout at some Clinton campaign events actually included large numbers of Obama supporters.  What's up w/ this?

 

First, today's WaPost, p.1 Metro section, has a side-splitting account (truly funny if you know today's teenagers and a big faux pas if you don't) of HRC doing a gig at a northern VA high school.  She's running late, so her front man tries to get the crowd going, only to learn they are largely Obama supporters.  (The kids got to miss class in order to attend; who wouldn't?)

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020902140_pf.html

T he candidate was more than an hour late, and the crowd, stuck in a stuffy high school gym in Arlington, was getting antsy. A campaign staffer took the stage with a big pile of T-shirts to give to those who answered trivia questions about Hillary Clinton.

Her birthplace? Got it. Her law school? Piece of cake. How much of the country would Clinton's health plan cover? "All," came the answer. Okay, final question: "This person is the next president of the United States . . ."

Suddenly, all around me, the bleachers in the Washington-Lee High School gym shook with shouts of "Obama!"

"Oh, no," said Linda Cooper, a Chantilly homemaker and Hillary fan who was sitting next to me. "I guess she doesn't have the young people."

                                            *   *   *

Second, Bill went to services Sunday at two black churches and was well-received, by the polite and largely-Obama-supporting worshippers.

"Ethel Sligh of Upper Marlboro said she suspects that most church members are Obama supporters. "

2.  Obama Trounces Clintons in Crowd Turnout

 

Check out the crowd numbers cited here in the Post, or really any other major news story, the blogs, etc.. and keep an eye on reports on Obama's Monday appearances at the enormous Comcast Center at U.Md in College Park and later at an arena in Baltimore.  Barack just keeps packing large venues, with large overflow crowds unable to get in, while Hillary and Bill can't seem to fill all their small venues w/o bringing in substantial numbers of Obama supporters!

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021001331_pf.html

"Meanwhile, Clinton dispatched family members to address voting blocs largely associated with Obama. Former president Bill Clinton spoke to more than 3,000 people at two black churches in the District and Prince George's County, and daughter Chelsea Clinton rallied students at the University of Maryland in College Park.

... " Appearing at Bowie State University last night, Clinton told a raucous crowd of nearly 1,000 supporters that their vote tomorrow is important.

               [Raucus?  Come to College Park on Monday and about 17,000 Obama supporters will show you raucus!!]

        .... "Obama, who drew a crowd of 18,000 in Virginia Beach last night, did not plan to visit Maryland until today, at a pair of rallies at large venues in College Park and Baltimore. Pollsters and analysts predict that he is in strong position to sweep the region, with its heavy concentrations of African American, wealthy and college-educated voters -- three constituencies that have flocked to his campaign. Even Virginia, considered by the Clinton camp to be the most competitive of the region's races, appears to be going for Obama. A statewide poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research released yesterday showed Obama leading Clinton by 16 percentage points among likely voters -- 53 percent to 37 percent.

.... "All my life, I wanted to vote for a woman as president. And all my life, I wanted to vote for an African American as president. It's hard to know why God gave us this dilemma," Bill Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd of 2,500 at Temple of Praise in Southeast Washington. "All I can tell you is that the most important thing now -- because of the war in Iraq and prestige around the world -- is that you pick the best president. Think and pray on it. . . . Whatever you decide, I honor it."

..."Probably not since Harry Truman have we had a president who will inherit two wars, an economy in trouble, millions of people losing their health care and millions of families on the brink of losing their homes," Clinton told more than 500 people at Grace E. Metz Middle School in Manassas, stressing the need for the president to be ready the first day in office.

...." A short drive away, Obama, joined by Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who has endorsed him, spoke to supporters at T.C. Williams, using the high school's racially and economically segregated past -- as told in the book and movie "Remember the Titans" -- to describe his agenda to improve the quality of schools and access to higher education. More than 4,000 people crowded into the school to see him; hundreds more, unable to get in, waited on the sidewalks. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) endorsed the senator at the event.

Bill Clinton put in a full schedule on his wife's behalf, appearing at two church services and at Leisure World, a senior center that is home to about 8,500 people and has its own voting precinct, one of the most active in Maryland. 

    [NOTE:  Nowhere near 8,500 people  showed up, of course; many of these folks are house-bound and bedridden.  The Clinton campaign phoned supporters outside the retirement community to recruit attendees, including two of our pro-Clinton friends.  They RSVP'd to the campaign and drove to Leisure World only to be told their names weren't on the RSVP list.  Perhaps this is why Maggie Williams was brought in!]

    I have often said there's usually a Springsteen lyric for just about any situation.  For the Clintons in MD and DC on Tuesday, it might be "Counting on a Miracle."