It’s not unlike Democrats to create a charade to portray the majesty of their awe-inspiring leader Barack Obama. Back in 2008 they used a façade of Greek columns to back their glorious savior; but in 2012 the crowds don’t come easy for a man who has disappointed so many. This week the Democrats are forced to import bodies from colleges across North Carolina and black churches in South Carolina to try to create an atmosphere that came naturally in 2008.
While for generations it was sufficient to hold your convention at a single site, as the GOP did this year, when Barack Obama is to be consecrated, as in Denver in 2008, you must have a special venue for his breathtaking acceptance speech; this year it’s the Bank of America Stadium.
Obama doesn’t draw the crowds he did four years ago, so the Democrats are busing in a fake crowd to try to fill the 74,000-seat stadium to capacity when President Obama accepts the Democratic nomination Thursday night.
You see, when you’re the magnificent Barack Obama, anything short of a full house to watch you accept the Democratic Party’s nomination is simply not acceptable.
There’s been an undercurrent of concern that has flowed throughout the Democratic Party for months that the president would draw far less than a capacity crowd at Bank of America Stadium. Polls show voter enthusiasm is down, as are Obama’s crowds at his campaign rallies.
Obama advisers insist the stadium will be filled when Obama delivers his speech. Vice President Joe Biden also will speak Thursday night, along with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who will vouch for Obama’s national security credentials.
Convention delegates, volunteers and other Democratic officials already in Charlotte for the party gathering could make up as much as one-third of the crowd; filling the rest of the stadium requires some creative manipulation of the viewing audience.
Elena Botella, a student at Duke University and president of the College Democrats of North Carolina, said her school was busing 100 students to Obama’s speech.
Lonnie Randolph, the president of the South Carolina chapter of the NAACP, said several large black churches in his state are planning to send busloads of members on Thursday to watch Obama’s speech.
“There are plenty of people who wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Randolph said. “How often does this happen this close to South Carolina?”
Obama aides say several thousand tickets also have been given to new campaign volunteers in North Carolina. People who complete three volunteer shifts totaling nine hours got one ticket to the final speech; perhaps three tickets for one hour might have been a better plan.
Obama is facing an uphill battle this time around in North Carolina, where the unemployment rate exceeds the national average and voters approved a gay marriage ban the day before the president announced his support for same-sex unions.
In 2008, when Obama accepted the Democratic nomination before a capacity crowd at an 84,000-seat stadium in Denver there wasn’t any concern whether Obama would fill that stadium. Obama attracted tens of thousands of people to his campaign rallies across the country before he was elected to the White House; it’s a far different picture this time around.
In 2012 Obama’s crowds are far smaller. He drew his biggest audience at his campaign kick-off rally in May, a 14,000-person crowd at Ohio State University. About 13,000 people attended Obama’s rally at the University of Colorado in Boulder Sunday. Other Obama campaign appearances have drawn numbers roughly one-third the size he experienced in 2008; alas, the magic is gone.
The country woke up Mr. Obama; they see through you now.
The campaign has tried to claim that they have purposely kept summer event turnout low because large rallies are more expensive and security requirements are more intense for a sitting president than a candidate. What a bunch of malarkey. Obama had Secret Service protection in the summer of 2008 and the size and the enthusiasm of the crowds then was far greater and security concerns a major issue at the time. Does anyone believe the president’s campaign is telling folks in 2012 not to come?
If Mr. Obama could accept the nomination of his party like any other mere mortal, none of this would be a concern; but when you must have a massive crowd of your loyal or fabricated subjects present to gaze upon your glory you inevitably risk the chance that they will discover that the emperor’s new clothes aren’t all they appeared to be just four years ago.
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