"I just want to begin by saying how much I regret that we're not all gathering in one place," Obama said.
His campaign wanted to maximize people's participation in the convention and his campaign, he said. "That's why we wanted to take a chance" by having the final night at the outdoor Bank of America Stadium. Democrats announced Wednesday they would move tonight's events to Time Warner Cable Arena.
"The problem," Obama said, "was a safety issue. I could not ask you (and authorities) to subject themselves to the risk of severe thunderstorms. You can imagine with all the nagging and security issues involved, getting 70,000 people into a place ... and getting them out of there (in case of storms) is even tougher. If we started seeing severe thunderstorms and lightning in particular, it would have been a problem.
"I know it's disappointing. ... My main message is, you can't let a little thunder and lightning get us down. We're going to have to roll with it."
Weather.com forecasts clear skies with zero percent chance of rain at 10 p.m. tonight. Forecasters say there's a 10 to 30 percent chance of rain and isolated storms in the afternoon and early evening hours.
Obama did not take questions. He said his campaign would try to set up events where people who got left out by the switch will get to see him.
The whole episode is an unnecessary misstep for the campaign. The weather is expected to be gorgeous tonight. Organizers knew there was a chance of rain in Charlotte in late summer when they announced months ago the event would be at the stadium. If anything, the weather tonight is expected to be nicer than you would have baked into your calculations when the original plan was drawn up.
We doubt many voters will switch their vote or stay home based on the Obama campaign's overabundance of caution. But in a state that you won by less than one-half of one-percent in 2008, doing anything to dampen voter enthusiasm is an extremely risky move.
Taylor Batten
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