Romney speech coverage distorts reality

The sorry state of political coverage was on full display today at Mitt Romney’s speech before the Detroit Economic Club.
The national media joined Democrats in fixating on the fact that the 65,000 seat Ford Field was barely filled by the crowd 0f 1,200, implying that a lack of enthusiasm for Romney was behind the “meager” crowd.
What wasn’t reported adequately was that the luncheon was moved to Ford Field when demand for the Romney event exceeded the capacity at Cobo Center, the Book Cadillac or the Rennaisance Center Westin, the other venues normally used by the club.
The event was considered a sell-out. It was never intended to be any larger than it was.
Nobody seemed much interested in the fact that Rick Santorum’s speech to the economic club, held last week at Cobo, drew roughly one-third the audience.
Was Ford Field the wrong venue? Yes. It’s too big for a rock concert, let alone a political speech.
But that decision was made by the DEC, and was probably influenced by Bill Ford Jr.s position as chairman of the club.
In terms of Detroit Economic Club audiences, this one for Romney ranked as huge. And the crowd on hand seemed more enthusiatic about it than the media.