How Many Seats Were Empty

I really dislike it when people aren't precise, and use the language to mislead.

For example, here's what Rush had to say about Obama's rally in Ohio yesterday.

Story #2: Cleveland: Obama Preaches to (Absent) Choir

RUSH: "Democrats Making Excuses for Poorly Attended Obama Rally -- Yesterday, Obama staged a rally at Cleveland State University. ... He spoke to an auditorium that had thousands of empty seats. The New York Post notes that event organizers are making excuses for the poor attendance: Shortly before his election two years ago, Obama drew a crowd of 80,000 in Cleveland. Organizers of yesterday’s event tried to explain away the row after row of unoccupied seats by saying the president was competing with football, church and Halloween parties." At three o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday. Three o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday, church services at three in the afternoon, trick-or-treating? I know Cleveland's a dangerous place, but is it so bad that kids are sent by their parents out to trick-or-treat at three in the afternoon on Halloween? Football? The Cleveland Browns had a bye. They weren't playing. They weren't on television.

Now, actually, this could have opened up an increased TV viewing, the NFL and Cleveland, because that means better games were available to Clevelanders since the Browns were not playing. Well, the Cleveland people know what I'm talking about. If you live in a town where your team is horrible and you have to watch that team you get mad when greater games are on elsewhere that you don't get to see. But I still don't use this, I'm not gonna accept this as an excuse why Obama had empty seats at Cleveland State University. It's not because he's off message, it's not because the PR is wrong, it's not because the marketing is screwed up. It's because -- and never forget this -- people have rejected his policies. People have rejected Obamaism. That's why this is happening.

What I want to know is, why is this sentence so vague?

"He spoke to an auditorium that had thousands of empty seats. The New York Post notes that event organizers are making excuses for the poor attendance: Shortly before his election two years ago, Obama drew a crowd of 80,000 in Cleveland. Organizers of yesterday’s event tried to explain away the row after row of unoccupied seats by saying the president was competing with football, church and Halloween parties."

There were thousands of empty seats. Well, if a venue seats 80,000 and there are two thousand empty seats, that's still thousands of empty seats, but there's still 78,000 in attendance! I want to know how many people actually attended the rally, not necessarily how many didn't!