Like all the other candidates, Senator Obama is well aware of the first quarter fundraising deadline at midnight tonight. A few weeks ago, the campaign announced a March 31st event that would be webcast live from Iowa, and encouraged people to sign up on www.barackobama.com to host house parties where people could gather to watch the live webcast. Since no-one else seems to have diaried on this topic, I will report my experiences for those who are interested, and invite others to share theirs in the comments.
Four people in my medium-sized Michigan city actually signed up to host viewings of the webcast, which was scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern time. This was actually more hosts than were needed. My husband and I decided to attend the event on the campus of the university where he teaches. We have gotten to know the students who are involved with Students for Barack Obama there, and wanted to support them. According to the campaign, more than 5000 events were scheduled.
About 21 people attended the event. 16 of them were students. The organizer had her laptop projected onto the screen of the lecture hall. The webcast started right on time, live from the Onawa, Iowa Public Library, where Obama was gathered with a large group of people. The format was question and answer. The first question was about health care.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has spent time on the Obama website and encountered its slowness that almost immediately the webcast ran into technical problems. The webcast would freeze and then start again. It was particularly bad the first ten minutes or so, but it did occur throughout the hour. Clearly, there were too many people logged on trying to view the webcast!
However, eventually we saw it all. Obama gave fairly long, detailed answers to most questions and solicited the opinions of the people in the audience. Topics covered included education, Iraq and Afghanistan, public financing of elections, government spying, and ethanol. To me he came across as he usually does...thoughtful, articulate, confident. I find him a joy to listen to because his choice of words is often so creative and intelligent.
Afterwards, we watched part of the DVD that had been sent to organizers, and Melissa, the organizer, held a drawing for an Obama t-shirt and some buttons.
I don't think many of the students are in a position to donate, but the event seemed to be a success. One guy said that he had called about 30 people when he learned of the event and told them to come. Most couldn't make it, but according to him, were very excited to learn about it. I do believe that college students are going to make a huge difference in this campaign.
All and all, a good "kick-off" for the incredible man who will be our next president.