Hot day at Obama HQ
Tickets to Barack Obama's rally tomorrow night at the Forum in Harrisburg were handed out this morning at Obama headquarters at 401 N. Second Street, and were quickly gone. I didn't hear about the ticket requirement in time to get one. People began lining up around 6 a.m., and the line, according to friends who saw it, stretched all the way to Third Street and around the corner. The Forum only holds 1,763 people, at least officially. It's too bad the Obama campaign didn't book the rally in the Large Arena at the Farm Show Complex, which seats 7,000. The Rolling Stones performed there in 1964.
One of the officials at Obama headquarters said the senator has promised to make a return appearance in Harrisburg before the April 22 primary. In the meantime, they were urging folks to attend the State College rally in the Bryce Jordan Center earlier on Sunday, which is open to all comers.
Things were hopping at Obama HQ today. I stopped in with my daughter, Lydia, who wanted an Obama placard, but they were out so she had to settle for a bumper sticker and button. People--there were at least two dozen-- were in a state of happy excitement, and inspirational slogans written on small squares of poster board covered one wall.
Contrast that to Hillary Clinton's Harrisburg headquarters a block away, which was nearly deserted. One brusque young woman manned the front desk. My wife, a Clinton supporter, asked for a placard to put in the front window of our house. "Well, if you really want to help, we need volunteers to go door-to-door or make phone calls," the young woman said, impatience in her voice. Almost reluctantly, she handed over a placard instead.
Lisa said afterward that having seen the two HQ's, it wasn't hard to figure out who was ahead. She put the placard in the window and still plans to vote for Clinton. The New York senator is pinning her hopes on reversing the decisions not to hold revotes in Michigan and Florida--if you recall, both states lost all their delegates to the Democratic National Convention because they moved their primaries close to the head of the line in violation of party rules.
To be honest, I'm not sure at this point that she would win either of them. More and more party elders are coming out for Obama and urging Clinton to end her campaign, but she vows to press on no matter what the damage to the eventual nominee might be.