100.000 people at Obama event in St. Louis, MO

[Tender Branson]

Obama Rally Draws 100,000 in Missouri



Amy Chozick reports on the presidential race from St. Louis.

Barack Obama attracted 100,000 people at a Saturday rally here, his biggest crowd ever at a U.S. event.

The crowd assembled under the Gateway Arch on a sunny Saturday afternoon to hear Obama speak about taxes and slam the Republicans on economic issues.

Lt. Samuel Dotson of the St. Louis Police Department confirmed the number of attendees piled into the grassy lawn flanked by the Missouri capital and the Missouri River.

To be sure, big crowds don’t always signal a big turnout on Election Day. But Obama’s ability to draw his largest audience yet in a typically red state that just weeks ago looked out of reach, could signal a changing electoral map.

For months Missouri polls put Obama as much as ten percentage points behind Republican John McCain. It was widely believed that McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate would have won over the state’s conservatives and boosted his chances there. So far, that hasn’t happened.

A Rasmussen poll released on Friday shows Obama leading in Missouri 52% to 46% for McCain.

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill had harsh words for Palin when she introduced Obama on Saturday. Referring to comments Palin made earlier this week in North Carolina about “pro-America” states, McCaskill said “We have reached a new low in America politics when a candidate dares to say that one part of America is pro-America and another part is anti-America.”

She also took a dig at McCain for selecting a vice presidential nominee with limited experience. “One [candidate] picked one of the strongest candidates for vice president he could’ve picked in the United States and well, the other didn’t.”

Recognizing that big rallies don’t always result in cast ballots, the Obama campaign has dispatched thousands of field organizers and volunteers to Missouri to knock on doors in a statewide get out the vote effort.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/10/18/obama-rally-draws-100000-in-missouri/?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Lunar]

??

[TheresNoMoney]

Do they have early voting in MO?

[JohnCA246]

wow these photos are nuts.  I still dont think hes been to Cleveland yet.  That should be a big crowd as well.

[Ban my account ffs!]

There is only one similarity between Hitler and Obama:

Both men are charismatic and draw a lot of people to themselves.

The fundamental difference?

Obama draws people with a message of hope for a better future through peaceful change that will lift every American up rather than trying to exterminate an entire race of people and trying to take over the world.

[Lunar]

There is only one similarity between Hitler and Obama:

Both men are charismatic and draw a lot of people to themselves.

The fundamental difference?

Obama draws people with a message of hope for a better future through peaceful change that will lift every American up rather than trying to exterminate an entire race of people and trying to take over the world.

I know, I was simply cutting off the GOP hack response at the pass

[Middle-aged Europe]

There is only one similarity between Hitler and Obama:

Both men are charismatic and draw a lot of people to themselves.

Wrong.

Both men also held speeches in front of huge crowds of Germans!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD_06k32-BM

[Meeker]

1% of the entire state was at that rally.

Wow.

[Tender Branson]

[© tweed]

I wonder how they handle the acoustics at events such as this.

[TheresNoMoney]

1% of the entire state was at that rally.

Wow.

Missouri has 10 million people? I don't think their population is that high.

[© tweed]

1% of the entire state was at that rally.

Wow.

Missouri has 10 million people? I don't think their population is that high.

Wiki says a 2007 estimate had it at 5.87 million, so, no, they don't.  I guess that means that more like ~1.8% of the state was at the rally, presuming people from out of state comprised a negligible percentage (which probably was not the case, now that I think about it).

[Moooooo]

That's unreal.

[Tender Branson]

That's unreal.

Indeed. 4-times the crowd that attended Jörg Haider's funeral today.

[Likely Voter]

how would you like to be the 100,001st person to show up at something like that

I doubt half those people can hear a thing and maybe only a quarter or less could see anything. Or does Obama travel with a Jumbotron? (if not he needs one)

[Boris]

I have to say that the picture at the base of the gateway arch looks really g cool. If I were running for President, I'd definitely stage rallies against the backdrops of various landmarks. Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, Hollywood Sign, Giza Pyramid complex, Buckingham Palace, Tokyo Tower, Burj Dubai, Great Wall of China, Red Square, Machu Pichu, etc.

[J. J.]

J. J.'s Third Rule of Elections:  Supposed indicators, crowd size, signs and bumper stickers, letters to the editor, are meaningless in terms of actual voter support, though might be an indicator of campaign organization.

I should also point out that Obama was speaking about a half mile from his home state. 

[Lunar]

Well, more like one and a half miles (and Southern Illinois isn't really gung-ho Obama).

It shows a lot of enthusiasm for that many people to show up at a swing-state rally, I don't think anyone is claiming anything different.

[Meeker]

1% of the entire state was at that rally.

Wow.

Missouri has 10 million people? I don't think their population is that high.

Wiki says a 2007 estimate had it at 5.87 million, so, no, they don't.  I guess that means that more like ~1.8% of the state was at the rally, presuming people from out of state comprised a negligible percentage (which probably was not the case, now that I think about it).

I figured quite a bit would be from Southern Illinois.

[Zarn]

This is a bad sign, and I don't mean for McCain.

[perdedor]

This is a bad sign, and I don't mean for McCain.

Do tell.

[Zarn]

This is a bad sign, and I don't mean for McCain.

Do tell.

I'd tell someone willing to listen.

[Wall St. Wiz]

This is a bad sign, and I don't mean for McCain.

I don't understand. 2% of the total population of a state that needs to go Republican show up for Obama, and this is somehow a bad sign for Obama?  McCain couldn't draw 100,000 in any state.

We're so screwed, I wish this election would just come and go already.

[Zarn]

This is a bad sign, and I don't mean for McCain.

I don't understand. 2% of the total population of a state that needs to go Republican show up for Obama, and this is somehow a bad sign for Obama?  McCain couldn't draw 100,000 in any state.

We're so screwed, I wish this election would just come and go already.

That's not what I meant. I'm not talking about Obama or McCain.

I guess it was more of a comment to myself.

[Hash]

Jesus Christ.