Obama crowds thin out

Michael J. Mishak

Saturday, June 2, 2007 | 7:11 a.m.

Sen. Barack Obama has billed his presidential campaign as a grass-roots movement for change. In speeches, he often cites the sell-out crowds he has drawn across the country as a clear sign of an American electorate starved for a new kind of politics.

Twenty-thousand in Atlanta; 15,000 in Austin, Texas; and 3,500 in Las Vegas earlier this year.

So it was all the more noticeable Friday when two of his Las Vegas campaign stops featured a considerable number of empty seats, especially when compared with similar local events Wednesday for Sen. Hillary Clinton, his chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Both met with Culinary Union members, who are in contract talks with MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment, and held separate public events in high school gymnasiums. (Clinton hosted a town hall, Obama a rally.)

In both instances, Clinton got the bigger crowds - and louder applause.

Certainly it is too early to draw conclusions. Clinton has had years to ready herself for this race, while Obama joined the contest just this year. He may yet match the former first lady's organizational might.

But the events of this week nonetheless provide a snapshot of circumstances eight months before Nevada's Jan. 19 Democratic caucus.

Organization is crucial in that contest, particularly in a state that has never been a significant player in presidential primary politics. To succeed, campaigns must lock up support early, nurse it throughout the rest of the year and make sure it translates into votes on caucus day.

Hence the courting of the Culinary. With 60,000 members, the union of hotel and restaurant workers will provide ready-made organizational muscle to whichever candidate it endorses. The contract talks have also provided candidates with an opportunity to highlight campaign themes of economic inequality.

On Wednesday Clinton attracted an overflow crowd, flanked by workers. Others watched from the wings of the Culinary's union hall. She scored points with the crowd for her attention to detail, knowledge of the contract negotiations and well-crafted applause lines.

Obama, on the other hand, drew fewer union members. Culinary officials said the timing of the event, set for a half hour earlier than Clinton's, made it difficult for some shift workers to attend.

Obama displayed a style more conversational and free-flowing than Clinton, who can seem overly scripted. He built applause naturally and made personal connections with audience members, injecting jokes throughout his speech.

And drawing from his background as a community organizer, he vowed to walk the union's picket lines if the union's contract negotiations went south.

Later, Obama hosted a rally at Silverado High School. The gymnasium was roughly two-thirds full. Clinton packed a larger gym on Wednesday, drawing at least 3,200 people.

The events revealed another distinction between the two candidates.

Clinton, who is widely seen as the party's establishment candidate, was introduced at her town hall by two high-profile politicians, Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid and former Gov. Bob Miller.

Obama, who is seen as a fresh face attractive to political newcomers, was introduced by one of his Nevada campaign volunteers, who also happened to be one of his former law school students from Chicago.

Obama worked the crowd, getting big applause from his standard stump speech.

Like Clinton, Obama's biggest applause came when talking about the Iraq war, but he used his remarks to draw clear distinctions and launch veiled criticism of his chief rival.

Clinton voted to authorize President Bush to use force in Iraq, and, unlike former Sen. John Edwards, another top Democratic contender, she has declined to apologize for her vote.

Friday, Obama, to rousing applause, said he opposed the war from the start.

Then, without naming Clinton, he made an apparent reference to remarks she made on Wednesday in Las Vegas . She told the Associated Press that she believes Bush will begin withdrawing troops from Iraq soon.

"George Bush isn't going to change his mind," Obama said. "He's going to continue down the same path no matter how destructive it is."

Obama, like Clinton, pledged to end American involvement in the war.

Asked about the disparity between his and Clinton's organizations, Obama told reporters that his campaign would ultimately roll out endorsements, but added, "That's not the game we've been playing."

The campaign is focused on building grass-roots support, he said.

Passionate supporters, he said, would make the difference in the Nevada caucus.

Indeed.