As a Tampa Bay resident with Forrest Gump-like luck, I found myself sitting literally a foot away from the protesters from Uhuru during the Obama St. Petersburg town hall. Here are some observations I think both the media and the Obama campaign might be missing if they consider the outcome of that event anything but positive.
1) Six protesters just secured 2,000 votes. -- This event was far from an Obama love-fest. Having been ostracized during the primary and the punch line for more than a few political jokes on late night talk shows, Floridians are well aware of their swing state status. A large number of attendees were still "purple" and looking to make an educated decision on which candidate to support. Also, the local history between St. Petersburg authorities and the Uhuru organization is a sore spot to many residents on both sides. Obama gaining firm but respectful control of the situation was not lost on observers in the crowd and many left the event having a lot more positive things to say than they did coming in.
2) And the grace under pressure award goes to... -- The organizers for the St. Petersburg event could not have been pleased when the protesters not only disrupted the Senator's remarks, but dominated the media coverage afterwards. But the campaign should breathe a little easier after reading the Internet comments on most of the coverage. Apparently the blogosphere has concluded that Obama's ability to calm the outbursts at the beginning of the event and then to address protester Diop Olugbala's question showed poise and restraint -- two adjectives that most likely would not have come into play under normal circumstances.
3) The following people are not paid actors. No, really. -- One of the questions I heard asked most as people were filing into the bleachers was whether or not the questions would be scripted. I remember the days of Jeb Bush's re-election campaign, when loyalty oaths had to be signed before you were allowed in the door and neatly typed question cards were handed out to camera-friendly faces. This event was a definite departure from the controlled environment strategy. While one nervous woman did read from a piece of paper, the Uhuru incident underscored the point that the town hall questions -- spanning from veterans to veganism -- were certainly not planted.
4) A protest is sexier than the economy. -- I would love to think that, had the protest not happened, that the main stream media would have given the same air time to the new economic policy unveiled at the St. Petersburg town hall, but the cynic in me just doesn't quite buy it. After all, why discuss the merits of a thousand dollar energy credit for middle class families when you can run an endless loop of six individuals chanting and holding a homemade paper banner? While many people watching the 24-hour news channels may not have walked away knowing much about Obama's unveiled economic policy, even fewer of them would be able to tell you that McCain was also in Florida at the same time. Once again, Obama wins the battle of media coverage.
5) Way to take the wind out of the sails for McCain's "He's Too Big of a Celebrity" charge. -- You gotta kind of feel sorry for McCain at this point and his inability to win a news cycle. The guy can't buy a break. The Reverend Wright tapes are leaked and then his own supporter Reverend Hagee is exposed as being anti... well, anti-everybody. He gets prime television coverage just before Obama accepts the Democratic nomination and the result is the "Green Monster" speech. (Say it with me now -- "THAT'S not change we can believe in. Heh heh.") He challenges Obama to go overseas in hopes of labeling him as inexperienced at foreign affairs and the result is that his opponent is all but knighted. Now, his campaign seems to find their stride in a cleverly concocted "You Can't Elect Obama Because Too Many People Like Him" series of ads and what happens? The ongoing debate about McCain's ads is replaced with the coverage of six people that certainly do not think Obama is cool. (No word yet on Paris and Britney's thoughts on Uhuru...)