St. Louis

In terms of timing as well as momentum, this shot of Obama in front of 100,000 supporters in St. Louis on Saturday seemed remarkably familiar.

Specifically, it was reminiscent of the 75,000 people the campaign drew to the Portland waterfront back in May to help Obama seal the Democratic nomination.

One thing I’ve enjoyed watching over the past year is the mastery of the Obama campaign in adjusting the pace, style and scale of its events.  Alan Chin, our man on the ground, was there in Ohio, for example, when Obama downshifted, switching to a more intimate townhall format to mitigate questions about substance from the Clinton camp.

Even if Obama, having proved himself in the minds of a majority of voters, had the capability to do one mass-scale rally after another between now and election day, I doubt we’d see it.  Given the discipline of this campaign, my guess is they’ll stick with a balance of scales, from quite intimate to staggering, choreographed carefully between drama and touch.

(image: Joe Raedle/Getty. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial October 18, 2008.  St Louis, Missouri)