32,000 people show up for Obama

The crowd for newly anointed Democratic Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama, at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night, June 3, was estimated by St. Paul officials at some 32,000 people, 17,000 inside and 15,000 outside.

Some people waited for more that two hours in a line that wrapped around several blocks in downtown St. Paul for a chance at inside seating.

An ecstatic enthusiasm greeted the candidate as he entered the stage with his wife, Michelle, an enthusiasm that punctuated his prepared remarks at every interval, especially with his announcement that, "The long primary process is over." The crowd responded with the chant, "O! BAM! A! O! BAM! A!"

(upper photo by Dennis Geisinger; lower photo by Beth Brokering)