Biggest. Rally. Ever!

I got a good chuckle from ubiquitous local Republican consultant Holly Robichaud this morning. In her regular mini-space in the Boston Herald "Monday Morning Briefing," she proclaimed:

Liberals should brace for impact! This week Gov. Sarah Palin comes to Boston to hold the largest rally in our state’s history.

Tea Party activists -- like most protest organizers -- have a bad habit of overselling their numbers at gatherings. But it's rare to see someone do so before the event even takes place.

I don't know how many people will show up to Wednesday's Tea Party Express rally on the Boston Common, but the estimates I've seen and heard are 10,000 to 20,000. That means the event will have to really beat expectations to match, say, last year's HempFest (aka Boston Freedom Rally), which drew an estimated 30,000.

I don't know what the actual state record is, but there were anti-war rallies of 100,000-plus during Vietnam. I'm not seeing how those kinds of numbers could show up for Sarah Palin on a Wednesday morning. That would involve a level of co-ordination (buses, etc.) that I haven't seen so far.

I suppose it's possible that it could happen, but I think attendance is much more likely to be a few thousand -- which is perfectly impressive for this kind of event. I don't know why Robichaud would want to overhype expectations with this kind of hyperbole, but at least it gave me a good chuckle this morning.