by Christi Parsons
In the ongoing drive to present positive indicators for their campaign, aides to Barack Obama just came out with the latest: crowd size.
According to a new graphic just released by Team Obama, his crowds have been significantly outsizing those of rivals John Edwards and Hillary Clinton in the Iowa battleground.
In their analysis of post-Christmas crowd sizes, the Obama analysts say his events have drawn more than double the attendance of Edwards events in several Iowa cities.
In the match-ups with Clinton, they contend Obama draws at least 50 percent more people.Of course, the numbers are miles away from being scientific. The figures come from news accounts and other reports. And the events they document are obviously those the Obama camp chooses to show.
But campaign manager David Plouffe contends the numbers are real and that they point to something good for Obama.
“That’s a testament to the fact that undecided (voters) are still very interested in Sen. Obama,” said Plouffe.
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The effort to turn out big crowds isn’t just “for the sake of optics,” he said. Obama wants to meet them face-to-face to “close the sale,” he said.
The crowd sizes are also a testament to organization, Plouffe said, a positive sign for Obama’s caucus night showing.
Those are the crowds who really matter.