MC Joe Biden
Posted on 09/01/2012 6:09:04 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Obama campaign says it will fill stadium for convention’s finale By Amie Parnes - 09/01/12 06:00 AM ET
Team Obama promises it will fill every one of the seats in Charlotte’s mammoth football stadium Thursday night when President Obama closes the Democratic National Convention with a speech accepting his party’s nomination.
For weeks, Democrats have been concerned about filling Bank of America Stadium, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. They feared a devastating image of an enthusiasm gap if Obama spoke to empty upper decks at the venue.
But the Obama campaign says it’s got it covered, and that all 73,778 of the stadium’s seats will be spoken for. The campaign also insists this success will showcase a ground operation that will help Obama win North Carolina for a second cycle in a row this November.
“We’re confident we’ll be full,” Jen Psaki, the traveling Obama press secretary, told The Hill late last week. “We have a great ground operation in North Carolina and we’ve registered more voters than any other state.
“Our goal is to leave North Carolina better than we came in,” Psaki added.
Obama set himself up for a challenge when he decided to recreate the image that closed his 2008 convention — an address to a packed, enthusiastic crowd at Denver’s Invesco Field.
This speech comes four years into Obama’s presidency, and in the midst of a slow economy that is the Republican ticket’s No. 1 argument for replacing the Democratic president.
Obama’s supporters say the most pivotal part of Thursday night’s event is the president’s speech and not the optics and spectacle surrounding it, but they acknowledge a partially-filled stadium would give Republicans more fodder in a state where Romney leads in most polls.
“This isn’t 2008 and this isn’t Colorado,” said one former administration official. “And I think the fear is that the campaign aimed too high on this one. After all, this is a southern state, which leans red and only helped Obama win in 2008 by very slim margins.
Steve Elmendorf, who served as deputy campaign manager for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, acknowledged that filling the stadium is a “challenge.”
“They’re taking on something that’s hard to do,” Elmendorf said. “And they’re doing it in a state that isn’t one of their core states. But I give them credit for trying.”
Late last month, a slew of tickets were still available for the acceptance speech at the stadium.
In an attempt to fill the empty seats, Team Obama put in place a “9-3-1” program that would provide supporters with one ticket to the acceptance speech after they volunteered for nine hours over three shifts, an effort it says will expand its grassroots.
Last week, credentials were handed out on a first come, first served basis, a campaign official said, with North Carolinians across the state having the opportunity to line up to receive a credential.
“Demand for these credentials was truly amazing,” the campaign official said. “Tens of thousands of North Carolinians received credentials, making this truly the most open and accessible convention in history.”
While the campaign won’t say how many tickets for the speech have been handed out to date, they say credential distribution has ended for the time being, with the caveat that anyone in the state who is still interested in attending can sign up through the “I’m there” program to know if and when additional seats will be given out.
Republicans say they don’t have any doubt that Team Obama will fill the stadium to the rafters but that the efforts will be contrived.
“The rule is standing-room-only,” said Ken Lundberg, a GOP strategist. “The campaign knows that, and there’s no question they will fill the stadium. If they have to bus union groups from Miami, New York and Kalamazoo into Charlotte, that’s what they’ll do.”
Several union officials and others close to labor say they hadn’t heard anything about busing in union members to help fill seats for the speech.
But Lundberg added that the “key indicator that night will be energy.
“People at the closing speech are the president’s strongest supporters; if their enthusiasm is anything short of the night Obama first won the office, that’s a clear sign of trouble,” he said.
Campaign officials say they are guaranteeing a memorable final night in the swing state.
“President Obama’s speech on the final night of the convention will be truly be historic, and we are so glad that so many North Carolinians will be there,” one campaign official said.
And/Or, Prison inmates.
You know what other "optics" would give "Republicans more fodder"?
Rain.
LOL! The mental image I’m getting is the scene in Stephen King’s “The Stand” where all the bad guys are gathered in Las Vegas!
——“President Obama’s speech on the final night of the convention will be truly be historic, ——
It will be historic indeed....
His last major speech before his concession speech....(if he gives one)
Star Wars bar scene to the Nth power....
Busing in anything that breathes.
Giving away $20 and a free ticket at the door with one catch... you HAVE to go inside.
Lately I've been wondering if I should go back and look at the Obama spectacle.
I don't see how the Dems can think this was a good idea. The mood of the country is different; Obama's no longer an aspirational character but the incumbent president with four easy years except for the economic problems he's been unable to solve.
Make no mistake, these four years have been a cake walk: he had no excuse not to be obsessively focused on the economy. There was no 9/11, no Ally invaded, no Cuban Missile Crisis...
Some people really believe him. But, 70,000 of them in Charlotte?
They won’t be from the Queen City, they’ll bus in government employees from DC.
MC Joe Biden
Yesterday he had to call out the troops to get a crowd.
They can frame the narrative and pose the visual images for the MSM video feed, but alas, it will not turn into votes on Nov. 6th.
And the election results will be a resounding repudiation of the governance of the Democratic Party - as Clint so aptly put it it is a NATIONAL DISGRACE.
Prior to moving to Atlanta I lived 2 years in Charlotte, it is prone to thunderstorms and lightning. And because of its lower elevation to sea level Charlotte is more humid and muggy than Atlanta.
It’s known as “inflatable audience.”
How about using recycled crash test dummies, otherwise known as Joe Bidens?
2012
Should Be a Great One!
4:00 PM - Opening Flag Burning Ceremony - sponsored by CNN
4:05 PM - Singing of “God Damn America” led by Rev.(?)Jeremiah Wright.
4:10 PM - Pledge of Allegiance to Obama.
4:15 PM - Ceremonial ‘I hate America’ led by Michelle Obama.
4:30 PM - Tips on “How to keep your man trustworthy & true to you while you travel the world” - Hillary Clinton
4:45 PM -Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson seminar “How to have a successful career without having a job.”
5:00 PM - “Great Vacations I’ve Taken on the Taxpayer’s Dime Travel Log” - Michelle Obama.
5:30 PM - Eliot Spitzer Speaks on “Family Values” via Satellite.
5:45 PM - Tribute to All 57 States - Nancy Pelosi
6:00 PM - Sen. Harry Reid - 90-minute speech expressing the Democrat’s appreciation of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and George Soros for sparing no expense, for all that they have accomplished to unify the country, improve employment and to boost the economy.
8:30 PM - Airing of Grievances by both Clintons.
9:00 PM - “Bias in Media - How we can make it work for you” Tutorial - sponsored by CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times.
9:15 PM - Tribute Film to Brave Freedom Fighters incarcerated at GITMO - Michael Moore.
9:45 PM - Personal Finance Seminar - Charlie Rangle.
10:00 PM - Denunciation of Bitter Gun Owners and Bible readers.
10:30 PM - Ceremonial Waving of White Flag for IRAQ & Afghanistan.
11:00 PM - Obama Energy Plan Symposium / Tire Gauge Demonstration / You too can get rich with Green Investment bankruptcies.
11:15 PM - Free Gov. Blagovich rally.
11:30 PM - Obama Accepts Oscar, Tony and Latin Grammy Awards
11:45 PM - Feeding of the Delegates with 5 Loaves and 2 Fish…Obama Presiding.
No, as Commander-in Chief, he’ll just order in all the troops from Ft. Bragg.
And they’ll do exactly what the troops did in Texas during Obama’s speech, muted response. That would look great on National TV. They would have to pipe in crowd noise/applause like a syndicated tv series.
These pottery warriors will be placed in various standing-room-only areas in the stadium to enhance the audience the night of Emperor Obama's acceptance speech.....and, armed with swords, spears and shields, they will perform double-duty as security during the evening's proceedings.
After the speech, the 8000 troops will be stored till November 6 when they will be bussed to various North Caroline polling places to vote before they are shipped back to China and returned to the ancient pits.
Leni
12:00 AM - Official Nomination of Obama by Bill Maher and Chris “He sends a thrill up my leg” Matthews.
12:01 AM - Obama Accepts Nomination as Lord and Savior.
12:05 AM - Celestial Choirs Sing.
3:00 AM - Biden Delivers Acceptance Speech.
His last major speech before his concession speech....(if he gives one)
It will be in a Friday evening news dump...
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