Saturnalia Evening Addition

The Obama rally in Providence, Rhode Island today sounds like it was a big success. Hillary got a crowd of 3,000 last week at the same venue. Obama had 3,000 in the overflow. The venue was filled with from 5,000 to 8,000 people, very enthusiastic. Senator Lincoln Chafee, who as a Republican lost his seat because he voted against authorizing the Iraq war, was present in the hall as an Obama supporter, and when Obama mentioned his vote, he got the ovation he so richly deserved. The Washington Post also suggests R.I. may not be safe for Clinton.

This was after Obama had a meeting with Latino religious leaders in Texas and visited the border.

Al G. reports that Obama is headed for a couple of events in Ohio, one tonight in the Cleveland area and one tomorrow noon. The New York Times reports that Clinton and Obama will be in the same Ohio town at the same time Sunday. Their article describes the battle for both states as fierce, as Clinton tries to survive and Obama tries to end this thing.

Clinton apparently is not sticking to her previously announced schedule of staying in Texas until Tuesday. She is expected to concentrate on questioning Obama's national security credentials. With Obama buying perhaps twice as much ad time, Hillary is going for free media, with her appearance on Saturday Night Live Saturday, and upcoming on the Daily Show on Monday. Obama's Town Hall Meeting in Parma, Ohio (Cleveland area) Saturday appears to have been very well attended.

Meanwhile the Obama campaign said that its volunteers made 300,000 phone calls to the March 4 states on Saturday, passing its goal of 1 million by March 4. The new goal is another half million calls by the time the polls close Tuesday.