From 84,000 to 74,000 to 20,000

From the London Daily Mail:

Democrats WILL move Obama's big speech from 74,000-seater outdoor stadium to smaller indoor arena citing bad weather (but was it really because they couldn't fill it?)
Democrats today announced that President Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will move from the vast Bank of America stadium to the much-smaller Time Warner indoor arena.

While organizers blamed weather forecasts of lightning, the switch means that Obama has avoided the possibility of having to accept his party�s nomination before a partially-empty stadium. Just hours earlier, officials had been insisting the speech would go ahead in the stadium 'rain or shine'.

'We have been monitoring weather forecasts closely and several reports predict thunderstorms in the area, therefore we have decided to move Thursday's proceedings to Time Warner Cable Arena to ensure the safety and security of our delegates and convention guests,' said convention chief Steve Kerrigan.

But convention sources exclusively told the MailOnline on Tuesday that the real reason behind the switch was fears within the Obama campaign that there would be large numbers of empty seats in the 74,000-seater stadium. The Time Warner arena has a capacity of just over 20,000.

From the Charlotte, NC CBS affiliate:

Dem Organizers Scrambling Since No Balloon Drop Following Obama Speech
No balloons? What kind of a political convention is that?

With a threat of rain, there will be no downpour of Democratic balloons.

Thursday�s national convention finale was supposed to be at Charlotte�s huge outdoor Bank of America Stadium. Seventy thousand or more supporters cheering President Barack Obama�s acceptance speech. Fireworks soaring into the skies to match the fiery rhetoric. That�s the way it was four years ago as Obama stood before 84,000 exuberant followers in Denver�s Invesco Field at Mile High stadium, an overflow crowd shouting approval.

Denny over at Grouchy Old Cripple linked to this little news item from the Dunwoody Patch: (Denny lives in Dunwoody, GA)

Dems Giving Away Tickets to Obama's Speech
Dunwoody Democrats have a chance to see President Barack Obama's acceptance speech in person at next week's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC.

The DeKalb Democratic Party sent out this message Thursday night.

DO YOU WANT TO GO TO CHARLOTTE AND BE THERE IN PERSON FOR THE PRESIDENTS"S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH?

In Atlanta: Manuel's Tavern, 602 N Highland Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307

In Macon: Bibb County Democratic Party, 835 Forsyth St. Suite A, Macon GA 31201

Here's the rules:
Everyone who is at Manuel's Tavern or the Bibb County Democratic Party by noon is eligible for two tickets. Arrive early if you want, but it won't give you a better chance to win. Just be there by 12 noon!

If less than 50 people arrive, everyone will get a pair! If more than 50 folks arrive, we will do a random drawing to determine our winners.

There is no cost involved. We're not selling the tickets, we're giving them away.

Since we're not selling tickets, you can't sell them either! If you sell your tickets to someone else, they will be deactivated.

For planning purposes, we expect that President Obama will speak at 8pm on Thursday. To insure that you are in your seat for the speech, you should arrive at the stadium that afternoon. There will be strict security at the event.

Your trip to Charlotte to see the President's historic speech begins tomorrow.

Let's see -- Dunwoody, GA is 236 Miles from Charlotte, NC The last article was dated August 31st -- the ticket give-away was scheduled for six days before Obama's speech. If they are casting such a large net, they must be running scared.