Aw, that was nice

OK, those pictures are ten times as cool as the giant crowd inside.

In the meantime, we can enjoy vintage valentines!

Not to pick on ECB, but do you think (a) so many supporters for Hillary would have stayed outside in the cold for 2+ hours after being locked out, and (b) that she would have taken the time to speak to them outside after the rally?

Well shit. I missed getting in and I waited outside until I couldn't stand the cold any longer and then it turns out I missed him again by like 5 minutes. I can't win.

speaking of hillary, 3 robocalls in the last 24 hours -

@4: That was actually before the rally... he spoke to us (the overflow crowd) first.

With Hillary not only did we have to wait for her for a couple of hours, then no one could leave the parking lot until the motorcade left, which was an hour after her speech ended. I didn't get home from that debacle until past midnight.

Nandor #3: In fairness to HRC, secret service would never LET her do that. In time, they won't let Obama do it, either.

Thanks for the story, @7. Seriously, these little details say something about the candidates.

@8, Barack already has secret service protection.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18474444/

hmmmm, switzerblog, you could be right. I do think though that Obama is more authentic than HRC and that her debacle is just symptomatic of that. He's cocky in a good way. She's arrogant in a BAD way.

You can see two of them in the second photo.

Nandor, neither candidate gets any brownie points for having an exciting rally. The people who matter go to the caucuses. If you think Obama's got it in the bag because he had a big party, you might be in for a shock in 24 hours.

Yep, 3 robo-Hillary calls for this dude, even though I'm in Hamburg, Deutschland. Hooray for call forwarding and modern technology. Thanks to Ron Sims and my personal sweetheart Maria Cantwell. I placed my worthless absentee ballot for Obama, and will not be around for the caucus.

Please, please, don't play into the Rebumblican hands and nominate Mrs Clinton....

@12: I talked to at least two Republicans at the Obama Rally, Fnarf. The GOP might be in for a bigger surprise...

@8, I accidentally posted my comment before I was finished typing but I mean that he already has SS protection and I would hope that they don't protect each candidate differently. Do you have any info that confirms that they do?

Here's a brief video of the crowd assembling to the east of Key Arena.

I left just before Obama arrived, sadly.

@10 and @11: right, and right. He's had Secret Service protection for I think about a year now, but yes, his protection is different than hers. She's a former first lady and is HATED by a healthy percentage of people wherever she goes. Her protection is also different from Bush's - Secret Service handles each candidate/officeholder differently, depending on perceived threat levels and, frankly, current position (i.e. sitting pres gets tighter coverage than, say, GHW Bush).

And I don't claim to know if she WOULD do this - I don't think so - just that we can't decisively SAY she wouldn't do it, because the Secret Service would just never allow it.

Here's a funny comment about HRC's "Town Hall" in spokane:

"Clinton wrapped up her speech at 4:35 p.m. and left the stage without taking any questions. We're not sure why, as the event was planned as a town hall meeting."

http://spokesmanreview.com/elections/2008/blog/

No, his speech before was way more exciting than the one they pumped out the loudspeakers.

I also talked to a few Republicans there - and at my coffee shop, the owner says two people he knows who are longtime GOP stalwarts are voting for him - and went to the rally.

Wouldn't want to have an (R) after my name in Nov 2008, is all I'm saying.

but we did stay there until 2 pm ... and it was cold and it did rain ... even if the speech was just after Noon (before Gov Gregoire gave her speech inside).

It was worth the aggravation of all the long lines everywhere at the Seattle Center. It was my presidential candidate rally and I thought it was great. I also plan to caucus Saturday.

my FIRST*(prez candidate rally.) oopsie.

Obama wants only young voters, apparently.
I am old.
Although I have voted in every election in which I have been eligible since I was 18, I have received no Obama calls, literature, anything. I have not voted Republican in more than 30 years.
Obama does not want my vote.

If Hillary is not nominated, I will vote for McCain.

@23 - tell that to the women I stood next to today - 40s, 50s, 60s, and one in her 70s.

It's not just young people that like Obama.

M, what if he gave you a foot rub?

M, have you always voted based on the number of calls and literature received?

@23--I havent received any robo-calls OR literature, and I'm 41.

But I don't think that is any rational measure of a campaign's desire or lack of it for my vote, nor do I think any Presidential candidate would refuse ANY person's vote based upon age (or anything, for that matter).

I mean, really?

@12 (Fnarf): I know that only the caucus matters - I'm not claiming that it's in the bag for him. I'm just saying that it was very considerate of him.

@23 (Will in Seattle): I also have received no Obama literature, and for that I am happy. I have a cell phone number that is on the DO NOT CALL list. I don't consider that a sign that he doesn't want my vote - just that he doesn't want to harrass me.

I'm waiting for the doorbelling robots to come and solicit me directly.

It's not true that Obama wants only the younger voters. I am 58; my husband is 62, and we were called four times by the Obama campaign last night: twice for him and twice for me. We also have a younger voter in the house and he was not called. #23, it's a stupid reason to not vote for someone because you feel neglected that their campaign workers did not call you. sheeesh.