My impressions from attending JJ Dinner
1. People really like Katy Perry. There were a lot of moms/grandmas in line with young girls to go see Katy Perry and one grandpa was taking his 2 granddaughters to Katy Perry concert had no idea that it was a Hillary event.
2. Hillary has an enormous staff in Iowa and her blue glow sticks were awesome.
3. The crowds reflected the candidates perfectly. Hillary's crowd had matching t-shirts, glow sticks and were all chanting in unison perfectly like a little army to the point it didn't seem all that authentic. Bernie's crowd was making a ton of noise all shouting different things while waving homemade signs. No real organization, but it was clear they LOVED their candidate. O'Malley's team was the smallest crowd by just a bit. But, it had the youngest crowd and our rich people section cheered along with the bleachers unlike Hillary/Bernie's. We also had the most entertaining cheers. O'Malley's kids sat in the bleachers with his supporters which showed a lot about their character.
4. Bernie's crowd stuck around for O'Malley's but cleared out en masse as Hillary started.
5. Hillary's crowd sat on their hands during Bernie's speech and Bernie's crowd was gone when Hillary started speaking. O'Malley was only candidate to get entire stadium up on their feet twice. Even the rich folks.
6. The media had their narrative already set before the night even unfolded. It was all about Hillary's triumph and Bernie's criticism of Hillary. O'Malley ignored. I think the people in Iowa aren't going to follow that line.
7. O'Malley needs to release an ad with his closing speech from the debate. I heard from supporters of other candidates repeatedly that his closing speech was the best thing they heard from any candidate this cycle so far.
Ranking Speeches:
1. O'Malley - His speech was optimistic, full of passion and heart. It was inspirational. His speech was the most Obamaesque of all of them. The way he spoke about immigration and gun control can't be matched by any other candidate. O'Malley also was able to list off his accomplishments and show that he wasn't just all talk. He also could talk to all portions of the Democratic electorate without making it seem like he was just going down a checklist. And like I said earlier, he was the only one to get entire stadium up on their feet twice. He's gotten so much better than he was at Wing Ding event.
2. Sanders - His speech was very similar to what he's done in the past. It fired up his audience and the rest of the crowd was not feeling it in part because we've heard it all before. Strongest portion of the speech was when he started talking about his tough votes - against DOMA, Iraq War, etc. That was a fair criticism of Hillary. During that portion other parts of the crowd got engaged while Hillary's was dead silent.
3. Hillary - This is the kind of speech that just isn't going to inspire people unless you are a die-hard supporter of Hillary. It was a checklist speech. She gave a line or two to every group in the Democratic base and it didn't feel authentic. Her rally cry of "ImWithHer" was pretty tone deaf. Obama won in 2008 because he made it about us, not him. Hillary still hasn't learned that lesson. I thought her Wing Ding speech was much, much better.
I was impressed with the # of Iowa activists who attended O'Malley's pre-dinner rally where he sang and played guitar. People are excited about him. I think he's going to do a lot better in Iowa than what the polls show.
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Working on your suggestion of an ad.
and I don't know what can be done about that other than startling results in a REAL poll, that is, caucus and/or primary. 
just recently with Noah what's his name, and Hayes and Rachel in the past. MSM doesn't want to give him decent coverage, so I don't expect anything BIG without something dramatic. J-J as good as it gets for the time being, I expect. Rachen/forum and next debate coming up in November.
Did they wear uniforms and salute "the leader"?
