100,000 Come to Obama Mega Rally

FoxNews ^ | 10/18/08 | Bonney Kapp

[hole_n_one]

ST. LOUIS - Under the Gateway to the West, the St. Louis arch, Barack Obama addressed an estimated 100,000 people in the “red” Show Me State just 17 days before the general election - his biggest rally to date in the United States.

[neal1960]

“That’s what I don’t get UNLESS they shut down the Interstate.”

I might be wrong, but I have heard it is illegal to shut down a federal highway except for hurricane evacuations etc. But we are talking about the “One” here.

[Desdemona]

I live in suburb of St. Louis and I can tell you that this picture has been faked. From the arch grounds, where Obama is talking to the hotel in the background and the courthouse, there is a highway and overpass of highway cloverleafs that lead over to E. St. Louis. You don’t even see a street between Obama, the hotel and the courthouse in the picture — definitely photoshopped.

I live in the inner-ring and have for a very long time. They probably closed Memorial Drive and went into "Fair" mode. That picture looks like all the ones you see for the fireworks. As a user of Photoshop, I don't think it's faked. The block between the hotels in front of the Old Courthouse is a park. It's Saturday, it's beautiful outside and people went. They probably drew from both sides of the river, JeffCo, maybe even as far as Boone County.

I don't like it, but give credit where credit is due - it was one heck of a stunt.

[hole_n_one]

What makes you think that the rally wasn’t held on the open area on the left side of the roadway as viewed in your pic @ 113?

[Sunnyvale CA Eng.]

Low angle photos always make a crowd look big. The pics may be real - we ARE rapidly becoming a nation of idiots.

Here is a "birds eye view" that you can spin around:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qf3rs27ghyrz&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=8594219&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1

[RoseofTexas]

Or perhaps they altered it with the 4th of July crowd? WHY were they forbidden to take any posters?? How can you have crowd control with such a hugh number and NO one has posters? WAS there a check point? I mean WHO was going to check 100 thousand to see that they didn’t have any posters.. SOMETHING IS FISHY! NOT ONE SINGLE POSTER....

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

View showing arch and domed bldg for reference









View as close to eye level as I can get:

[Desdemona]

Looking at that picture again, they kept the crowd between the walkways and probably off of the Arch steps and the levee. 100,000 might be optimistic. There's not enough space unless they closed off the Street at the bottom of the slope.

Great. It's going to have to be resodded again.

[RandallFlagg]

Crosslinking to Video of the event.

[hole_n_one]

I'm pretty certain the rally was held in the open space on the same side as the courthouse, and not on the other side of the roadway........

[Desdemona]

Someone needs to explain to me how a sea of people could “cross” Highway 70 which separates the Old Courthouse from the Arch grounds. There are eight (three each on either side of the two sunken Hwy lanes) between the grounds and those two buildings on either side of the “mass.”

It's the highway that's depressed, NOT Memorial Drive, which, unless the city did something completely nutty, was probably closed, just like they do for the Fair and everything else that goes on down there.

[GOPbabe]

Here is the view looking under the arch.

http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=360324

[nwrep]

Good point.

[Charles Henrickson]

Actually, it does look like the shadow of the Arch itself:

[linn37]

Where all all the cars parked for these people. Someone should have drove down to see where they were bussed in from.

[Joiseydude]

As a user of Photoshop, I don't think it's faked.

So then where are the trees in red in this picture...

...in this picture?

[bmwcyle]

Why is there this many stupid people in this country?

[RandallFlagg]

Holy crap! What did you use for that?

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

I don’t know what to think. I am no expert. But looking at the video you posted, the crowd looks thinner than the photograph.

[wideminded]

So then where are the trees in red in this picture...

They are plainly visible on either side of the picture.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

MS Virtual Earth (with the 3d enhancement)
Free, I might add :-)