Comedy Gold: Obama could not muster 18,000 people to fill arena at campaign kickoff

There were several thousand empty seats in OSU’s Schottenstein Center today as Obama kicked off his reelection campaign. They were kept off camera view as much as possible.

Via Politico:

The big Obama show — heralded by a huge “Forward” banner atop OSU’s Schottenstein Center and a fire-’em-up presidential introduction from first lady Michelle Obama — was less targeted at the national media than his 2007 announcement in Springfield, Ill., when the Obama campaign sought to project the image of an unstoppable nationwide movement.

This time, Obama’s team is localizing its message and targeting key constituencies — students, veterans, women, Latinos, African Americans — in too-close-to-call states such as Ohio and Virginia, while firing up young voters and volunteers whose support Obama sorely needs.

If the carefully choreographed kick off was any indication, Obama will face some challenges in recapturing the 2008 magic — especially among young voters who weathered three years of souring job prospects and rising college costs.

The campaign was only able to muster 14,000 supporters in an arena designed to hold more than 18,000. Several thousand empty seats ringed its upper deck, mostly out of view from the cameras.

“We are going to win this thing the old-fashioned way — door by door, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood,” said Obama, ditching the suit and tie for his 2008 campaign uniform — shirtsleeves, carefully cuffed at the forearm, and tan chinos. Keep on reading...