I was there. It was not scintillating by any means. The Blues Festival was in full swing yards away. Slightly hot, but good weather. The place should have been packed for the proverbial second coming. It wasn’t and yes, you are right, the reception was warm, trending toward lukewarm. St Louis is two hours away, Champain-Urbana 1 1/2 hrs, Chicago 3 hrs. Very poor turnout.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said he talked with Obama about potential candidates three weeks ago on a campaign bus swing through Florida. They made pro-and-con sheets and speculated about how the candidates would respond to various scenarios.
No free rock concert, no free beer...and Joe Biden. Gee, I can’t imagine why people were unenthused about their savior.