The Obama campaign allotted 180 tickets for members of the general public to attend tomorrow’s Labor Day barbecue in Monroe.  That is an absurdly small number given the 84,000 spots that supporters filled for Obama’s nomination acceptance in Denver.  Even Battle Creek planned for 14,000 visitors at tonight’s ballfield rally in mid-Michigan.

But one can see why the Obama campaign is hosting such a small-scale campaign event.  The senator from Illinois has been criticized for being too “Hollywood” in his approach.  There is nothing like a good, union-local barbecue to chase the Left Coast glam away.

Needless to say, competition for the 180 spots was fierce this morning and afternoon as Monroe residents and others lined up along Washington Street for the much-desired pieces of paper.

And my sister was one of the lucky few.  She reports that the line this morning was just disorganized enough that a few line-jumpers were able to get tickets.  One person who tried to cut ahead, however, was so ostracized by other citizens of the line that she was escorted away by campaign staff.  The Obama campaign didn’t immediately tell those past spot number 180 that they were out of luck.  They waited until everyone had the chance to sign a volunteer contact form.  I guess that you can’t blame them.

Now, I have to admit that I am just a bit jealous.  I love to follow politics.  I even remember debating the relative merits of Ronald Reagan versus Jimmy Carter on my kindergarten bus ride to Manor School.

But, really, Obama couldn’t have picked a better person for that ticket.  My sister, Michelle, is a former Hillary supporter.  She is a member of AFSCME.  She’s a young, married, middle-class, Catholic woman.  She’s married to a UAW member who works for Ford Motor Company.  In short, it is people like my sister who will decide this election.

And it can’t hurt that they sent my sister on her merry way with an Obama T-shirt and button.  Maybe she will help turn a few members of her key demographic cohort.

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