Obama Rally Harnesses Supporters (and Sends Some Packin')

This morning by 10:45 am, 15,000 people had already arrived on sight for Obama’s noon rally at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. This is amazing, considering the time and location of the event was announced yesterday morning. A turnout like this is simply impossible without today’s technologies –the internet and blogs, txt-messaging and micro-targeting, etc.

As I’m typing this, my sister is at the rally with my dad –sort of. They’re outside of the arena with hundreds of others, snaking around in lines through parking garages trying desperately to get inside for a peek.

Here’s something to consider: could such mass mobilization actually discourage some potential Obama voters, thus making an over-zealous internet campaign dangerous? My sister, a sharp 20 year old student of political science, has been waiting in line for three hours and is yet to make it in. I’ve been exchanging text messages with her for the last half hour, and she is frustrated; to be frank, she’s mad. She’s skipping class for a chance to hear Obama spin his magic, only it doesn’t look like she’s going to catch a glimpse. I’m watching the speech on live feed on my computer at school in New York. I wonder: could her frustration steer her away from the Obama-frenzy and solidify her Republican roots? Some may argue that would be a lame reason to stop supporting a candidate, but I see it as a viable reason (note: not an excuse), one that could serve as a gateway to a slew of other motives not to support him. It’s just a thought, and it parallels the criticism many people have of Obama, that he is a good speaker, a spectacle, a distraction –not a solution to the country’s problems. (I don't really believe this to be the case, but...).

This is just an example of our inability to keep up with technology. As I’m wrapping up this blog, the numbers are in. There were 17,000 people inside the arena and an estimated 5,000+ more outside. 22,000+ people assembled in less than 24 hours…nearly a quarter of which could not be accommodated.

My sister is now in her car on her way back to school to catch her 2:00 class. She sent me this text: “NOBAMA”