Did Obama Really Draw 72,000?

The NYT headline made it clear: Obama Draws Huge Crowd in Portland. So the South Chicago phenom really is a phenom, eh? Whoever heard of a politician drawing 72,000 people to hear a stump speech?

Who indeed? Let's see what the local rag has to say about it.

Obama was the biggest star at Sunday's gathering -- though a popular Portland band, The Decemberists, provided the warmup act. With blue skies and temperatures in the 80s, many in the crowd said Waterfront Park was simply the place to be.

Weekly Standard ed Michael Goldfarb thinks we've been had:

I don't listen to that kind of noise pollution, but I know that on a gorgeous, unseasonably mild day in Portland, a free performance by a hugely successful local band is likely to draw a huge crowd, and it seems that's precisely what happened. Nobody denies that Obama is a phenomenon, drawing enormous crowds wherever he goes, but this was reported like all of Oregon showed up to see Obama. New information has come to light.

Hugh also notes that The Decemberists typically open their shows with what I'm sure is a stirring rendition of the Soviet national anthem. No word on whether they opened the Obama rally with such a performance, but I'm certain our trusted media would have reported it if they did.

Oh, yeah. Most certainly.