Did You Know...

**Written by Doug Powers

Just yesterday Team Obama said that the president’s acceptance speech at Bank of America Stadium (referred to as “Panther Stadium” by select water carrying members of the mainstream media) would go ahead rain or shine. Now, citing weather concerns, the speech is being moved from the 73,000 seat outdoor venue to the 20,000 seat indoor arena:

Because of threat of storms, Dems scrubbing stadium venue for Pres Obama’s big speech thursday. He’ll give inside the indoor arena.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) September 5, 2012

I’m starting to think that somebody who apparently can’t re-direct a rain shower might have been fibbing about having the ability to affect sea levels.

Tomorrow night’s forecast for Charlotte calls for isolated thunderstorms and a 30 percent chance of rain. But it’s more likely that a separate but more important forecast found there to be a 100 percent chance of thousands of empty seats in the outdoor stadium.

Cue “You Didn’t Fill That!”

Update: Some of these buses might be turning around as we speak, but at least on the ride back home they can listen in on a conference call:

Tens of thousands of ticket-holders for Thursday’s stadium speech will now have to settle for a conference call with the president.

Campaign officials said Wednesday that they will only be able to admit the roughly 21,000 people who are officially credentialed to the president’s speech at the Time Warner arena, a smaller venue than the Bank of America stadium where the event had been scheduled. They said 65,000 would have attended at the stadium.

Organizers said in a conference call with reporters that they will encourage those who can no longer attend to go to watch parties in their area and to participate in the call, which President Obama will do Thursday. There are no plans for the president to address them in person.

Update II: Local meteorologist not helping:

The chief meteorologist at a Charlotte television station is questioning the decision by Democrats to move President Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention to a smaller venue because of the weather.

“Thursday night will likely be the best weather of the entire week,” Brad Panovich of WCNC-NBC TV wrote on Twitter in reference to when Obama’s speech was planned to take place at the outside Bank of America stadium, which can accommodate 70,000 people.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe