Free Republic

Barack Obama launched his campaign in unspectacular fashion today at Ohio State University, the largest college in the crucial swing state. A photo posted to twitter by Mitt Romney's campaign spokesman Ryan Williams reveals sparse attendance. The above image, according to Williams, was taken during the President's first official campaign speech.

Only 1,200 people showed up in a venue built for 65,000 to hear Romney's key speech in Detroit on Friday Mitt Romney didn’t have to worry about being flagged for having too many men on the field. Romney delivered a key speech Friday at the cavernous home of the Detroit Lions — and 1,200 people showed up in a venue built for 65,000. The economic address, meant to be the cornerstone of Romney’s pitch to Michigan voters ahead of the state’s primary, immediately became a lightning rod for its unflattering optics and the candidate’s odd ad libs. “You know, the...

Mitt Romney set out Friday to deliver a sweeping and sober vision for how to revive the economy in a major policy speech. In the end, he delivered something else: an unintended lesson about how poor visuals and errant words can derail a candidate's message. In an unusual choice, Romney gave his speech at Ford Field, a 65,000-seat indoor football stadium. The speech appeared perfectly normal to the television audience. The audience of about 1,200 people filled the screen as they applauded. But that is not all that matters in the age of Twitter and the Internet. Before Romney had...