This is just one angle showing the left side of the podium i wonder
if the other side looked the same way I bet i does because you can
see people all the way around the podium...
I was there too, just off the left side of this photo and about 2/3 way up - we were behind that sign so could not see Bush except on TV screen, which was further off to left, sort of behind him.
It was not that much more crowd to right, as the media stands were there and that was the path he walked in on. About 20-30 ft. to right was the road with the helicopters on the other side. Bush came in on a bus, then left on a chopper about 20 minutes after his speech, which was maybe 45-50 minutes long. He circled the field and everyone just roared! Another Presidential chopper left after Bush had circled, then the two Marine bigger choppers (sort of like the new version of the old "banana boats".
To the left was maybe 1/3 circle more of people with the VIP stands then lots of people on the ground. The area alloted, in front of the half circle of tractor trailers and contained by temporary fences, was however packed with people.
My guess would be this photo shows 40-50% of the crowd. They said on the PA when we came in that there were going to be 50,000, and that that was the largest political rally ever in Ohio.
As most of his speeches (this is the third I've been to live), he pretty much covers the territory. From health care, to jobs, to regulations, to trial lawyers, to education, to tax cuts, to small businesses, to Iraq. I would have liked to hear more "Kerry jokes", but the one (mentioned above) about Kerry being able to debate himself for 90 minutes was the best.
He also really scolded Kerry for criticizing Allawi, that this was no way to build a coalition. He said it would make it hard for Kerry to work with Allawi, but not to worry since he, Bush, was going to win. He was very relaxed, comfortable, seemingly not preoccupied at all by the upcoming debates.
There were not a lot of protesters, not overly vocal, and they were only on the roads coming in. I saw maybe 4-5 groups, rather puny signs (not Freeper quality, size or imagination), maybe 25-30 people total.
Lots of families out, very young to very old. However, I saw only at most 10 or so Blacks total. The crowd was mostly Westchester, Butler county (John Boehner territory, who introduced Bush), with some of us from Hamilton County (as in Cincinnati). The site was maybe 25 miles north of greater downtown Cincy.