Last updated on May 9th, 2012 at 01:40 pm
Remember when the right was claiming that Obama failed when he drew 14,000+ people to his Ohio rally? Today, Mitt Romney showed us what failure really is by drawing 500 people to his Ohio event.
According to Cleveland.com, “Before Romney began his town hall forum at Stamco Industries, Ohio Auditor Dave Yost dismissed the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as an Obama accomplishment. A Romney backer, Yost told a crowd of more than 500 that giving the president credit for bin Laden’s death would “be like giving Ronald McDonald credit for the Big Mac you had for lunch. Everyone knows it’s the man working the griddle, not the man on TV.â€
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The Romney people called the crowd estimated at anywhere between 300-700, “great turnout.â€
Let’s do a little comparison shall we?
Romney’s “great turnout†today:
Obama’s “empty arena†on Saturday:
Romney’s turnout fail from today. (Pic taken an hour before event started):
Obama’s “turnout fail†from Saturday. (Pic taken before the event started. Notice, there were more people at Obama’s event before it started than showed up in total for Romney).
Note to the right. If you are going to lie and try to make it sound like the tens of thousands of people who show up at an Obama event aren’t really there, you better have a candidate that can put butts in seats. Mitt Romney isn’t a draw. Obama might not have filled up an 18,000 seat arena, but Romney couldn’t fill up 1,000 chairs for a town hall meeting. The campaign claimed 700 people were there. The low end estimate was 300, and the truth is probably closer to the 500 that the media reported.
Mitt Romney’s crowd looks just like the crowds that showed up for John McCain’s events in 2008, except for the fact that McCain drew more people. The Republican nominee can’t fill up 1000 seats for a town hall in a swing state that the media claims is in play. This is not a good omen for the Republican Party. With the exception of the convention, enthusiasm for Romney may never be higher. Yet, his people are excited because 500 Obama haters showed up to hear him speak?
The fact that Romney couldn’t draw a crowd if you gave him charcoal and sketch pad is the reason why the Obama campaign is doing summersaults of joy every time someone on the right brings up attendance numbers. If you want to know which party has an enthusiasm problem, check out the pictures above. Tens of thousands turn out for Obama, less than a thousand for Romney.
When Obama draws 14,000+ it is a failure, but Romney draws 500 it is a great turnout. No wonder Republicans are so bad with our money, they can’t add.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
