The media narrative is so often a fake reality that I have become used to it and at times I don't even blink. But it's a bit ridiculous to call an 8,000 person rally a "thin" crowd. That's my take on this update from the NY Times. The problem is that this impacts the perception that voters have about potential momentum for Democrats in a key swing state.
The media narrative is so often a fake reality that I have become used to it and at times I don't even blink. But it's a bit ridiculous to call an 8,000 person rally a "thin" crowd. That's my take on this update from the NY Times. The problem is that this impacts the perception that voters have about potential momentum for Democrats in a key swing state.
CLEVELAND — President Obama wrapped up a weekend of last-minute campaigning in Ohio on Sunday, addressing Democrats in an indoor arena that, in a sign of the “enthusiasm gap” that the president is working so hard to close, was little more than half full.
About 8,000 people attended the Democratic National Committee’s Moving America Forward’ rally at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, a hall where the capacity is 13,000. The rafters were largely empty.
I believe this is exactly the type of article that demonstrates how the media influences voters. First we know there has been an enthusiasm gap. But 8,000 people showing up at a rally should help to dispel that notion - not reinforce it. This ought to be something easily challengeable. We know that Obama rallies are often huge in comparison with 35,000+. But I don't believe other rallies are quite as large and by claiming it's a thin crowd in it's headline, the NY Times is reinforcing a meme that millions of Americans are working hard to debunk. And to the extent that the meme is true, millions of Americans are working hard to change that.