The sounds and the fury

NASHUA, N.H. -- You want crowds, Barack? I've got crowds.

It's often hard, in the heat of this primary campaign, to draw meaningful contrasts among various candidate events. The crowd sizes, the energy, the atmosphere -- all can hinge on the venue, the time of day, and the weather, not to mention the subjective judgments of the political and media class.

But as Hillary Clinton supporters stream into Nashua High School North this afternoon for a rally, there may be a nice opportunity for comparison: Her chief rival, Barack Obama, headlined a rally in the very same place just yesterday -- also on a weekend day, in roughly the same timeframe, and under similar weather conditions.

Obama's campaign counted between 2,500 and 3,000 people here yesterday. Clinton's crowd size is still to be determined, but there were hoardes of people lined up outside the high school to come in; the line stretched far down the road leading to the school. Obama claims momentum, Clinton claims deep New Hampshire support. Only one vision prevails Tuesday.