Perry & Palin, Sittin' In A Tree: Empty Seats, Bad Music And Lots Of Old White People
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| Photos by Pete Vonder Haar and Bryan Fotographer / Click here for a slideshow |
If I'm going to be charitable about it, I'd say the center was filled to slightly over half its 8,500-seat capacity. Most of the rear of the arena was empty, as was about three-quarters of the floor, which had been sectioned off for presumably more teeming masses. Speaking with some of those in attendance, it also became apparent that this number would have been dramatically lower without Palin's presence. Some folks had come from as far away as San Antonio and Austin to hear her speak.
I didn't ask how many were there to see Ted Nugent.
Attendees started filing in shortly after 1:30. They were welcomed by dozens of rally placards strategically placed in the stands -- presumably for those who'd left their own "Perry 2010" signs at home -- and by numerous inspirational banners festooning the center. My favorite -- which is in no way a play on an idiotic statement made last year by the Governor -- is below:
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Senator Dan Patrick kicked off the festivities, opening with a crack about how if they'd had five more people in attendance, it would've equaled the number of "czars Obama has in Washington." It never hurts to dredge up that old Cold War era hatred of all things Soviet (or pre-Soviet, as the case may be), though someone will have to refresh my memory if Patrick and his ilk were similarly critical of George W. Bush (or Ronald Reagan, or George H.W. Bush) for their "czars" as well.
The rally continued with Aggie country singer Granger Smith (in yet another display of canny strategizing, Perry and company seemed to expect everyone in attendance to be a Texas A&M graduate). His set was mostly inoffensive, even if he sports the same baldness-concealing headgear favored by the lead singer of Survivor.
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I suppose they were going for that "down home" vibe, what with the Boy Scout troop presenting the colors and the marching band providing musical accompaniment, but the whole thing really just felt cheap and hastily thrown together. And nothing demonstrated that better than Ted Nugent's performance of the National Anthem, which was plagued by mic and feedback problems. He soldiered gamely on, to the "delight" of Perry's more staid supporters.
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