from David Horsey at Seattle pi:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/davidhorsey/archives/225736.asp Obama rocks the Dawg House
I showed up at Hec Edmundson Pavillion just before 9 AM to observe President Obama's noon appearance at a rally for Sen. Patty Murray. By then, the waiting line was stretching beyond the north parking lot.
I walked that way and followed the line down past the soccer field... and the baseball field... and to the turn near Husky Stadium. When I passed the crew house and got to the back of the indoor football practice facility, I could see the line continued on, well past the Waterfront Activities Center. Luckily, I bumped into some friends who let me cut in line. At that point, I didn't have much hope of getting inside Hec Ed and figured I'd have to settle for a spillover seat in the football stadium and a televised view on the big screen.
The epic line was new proof, as if any is needed, that Seattle remains a Democratic bastion and friendly ground for a president who is scorned and vilified to a shocking degree in some parts of the country. As a reminder of that widespread hatred, there were a couple of unsmiling Tea Party types on hand carrying posters of Obama with a Hitler mustache. They were handing out flyers describing how the socialists have stolen the country. I doubt that it dawned on them that the people who "stole" the country they want to take back are the people who were standing in that line -- a rather moderate, middle class, freedom-loving crowd. Maybe the crowd looked scary to them since, unlike a Republican crowd, there were actual black people and Asian people and others who didn't look like their ancestors came ashore on the Mayflower. They all looked like real Americans to me, but, what do I know? My ancestors didn't show up until 1640.
To my surprise, I landed a seat in the upper benches of Hec Ed. I was told the place holds close to 10,000 people. I don't know if that includes all the standing room on the floor. Whatever the numbers, the place was packed as a series of Democrats took the stage to fire up the crowd.
read more:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/davidhorsey/archives/225736.asp