http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/15/empty_seats_greet_mccain_at_fl.htmlJohn McCain
Empty Seats Greet McCain at Fla. Rally
By Robert Barnes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Republican presidential nominee John McCain held his first rally without running mate Sarah Palin today, and let's just say there were seats available.
The McCain "Road to Victory" rally was originally scheduled to be a pancake breakfast, but the campaign said there was such an outpouring of enthusiasm the event was shifted to the 15,000-seat Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
That might not have been the best idea: There were almost no supporters in any of the cavernous arena's 24 upper-level seating sections, and only eight of the 21 sections downstairs held fans. Only four of those were filled, though some supporters crowded around the stage on the arena floor.