This will be a short diary. I am taking the day off from my normal professorial duties and writing to hang up door knob hangers that tell identified Obama voters where their polling station is located.
I have been volunteering in the heart of central PA (State College). The team has been organized, persistent, and a joy to work with. We have been on the phones, registering voters, and knocking on doors. We have been meeting the goals set for us, and doing it with smile. From the some thousand Dems I have talked to over the past 6 weeks in and around State College, I can say that I am confident that Obama will do well in Centre county (not just with students; I haven’t spoken with them).
But this is not the point of my diary (I will catalogue my experiences after the primary). Hillary came to State College yesterday. Join me for details after the jump.
It was a rainy day yesterday. But this did not stop the Obama team from breezing through their canvassing goals. A flock of volunteers fanned out through all the townships in centre county. But something happened yesterday at Hillary’s rally that took me by suprise.
As the title of the centre daily times articles reads: Curtain Hides Empty Rows
A U.S. flag and black curtains hid rows of empty bleachers, as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke at Penn State’s Rec Hall Sunday night.
What do you mean that Hillary could not fill the stands in the heart of central PA? You mean, people did not come to see her from all the surrounding small towns that are to be bastions of strong Clinton support? But I have been told so many times by the talking heads that we don't have a chance in this area.
An estimated 1,500 people braved waiting in line in a steady rain to see Clinton, a far smaller turnout than Sen. Barack Obama’s appearance at Penn State on March 30 before a crowd of 22,000 amid sunny skies.
To put these poor attendance numbers in a better light, President Clinton attracted 6,000 at the same location.
I mean there must be some explanation for this. I just heard Smerconish say that Hillary will take ever county in central PA, including Centre county and State College. After all, Hillary is so popular with Central Commonwealthers.
Attendees attributed the low attendance to a number of factors: the weather, short notice, end-of-the-semester crunch,
That's right. The weather. Homework. Somebody even said the students were still hungover and in bed, even though the event started about 6:30 pm. Man, she has a rabid following. But you know what they say about excuses. And we on the Obama team won't be spouting any. Rain or shine, we are pounding the pavement. We are going to turn out the vote. All our hardwork is going to pay off. If you are in central PA, join me down at the office. There is an enthusiasm gap. If we get everyone to the polls, then we just may suprise all the prognosticators. Let's finish this marathon right.
Here is another article that has a video of the event: Clinton Vows Change, nobody there to listen