This was not a free event. Tickets were $30 for adults and $15 for students. I'll be uploading photos and some video of the event shortly, but here is what the local press had to say:
Presidential candidate Barack Obama greeted an overflow crowd of 4,000 in Madison today — with a sports joke:
"Never before have this many Packers fans cheered for a Bears fan," the U.S. senator from Illinois told the throng of college students and others.
He quickly shifted gears, and appealed for help in his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination.
"I want to bring about a better America, and I need you to make that happen Madison," the Democrat said.
Organizers are calling the campaign event the largest student-driven event the Obama campaign has held.
More than 300 people were lined up to see Obama at the Monona Terrace Convention Center before the doors opened this morning at 9:30 a.m. and by 11 a.m. more than 1,000 were waiting for admittance to an overflow area.
Audience members said they were impressed by the charisma Obama sustained throughout the 48-minute speech.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=251195&ntpid=1