Barack Obama attended a massive “Get Out The Vote” rally at the University of Washington today on behalf of Sen. Patty Murray. BATTLE ‘10 was on hand, and a bit unnerved by the flashbacks to 2008 brought on by the event. Thousands of mostly college-age supporters waited for hours in the cold, damp morning to get inside the Hec Edmundson Pavilion to see the President speak. Not everyone got in. The crowd was so large that hundreds were diverted to overflow seating in the nearby football stadium. Roughly 13,000 are estimated to have attended.

The line to get in stretched for more than a mile (quite literally).

The enthusiasm for the President was undeniable. He came here to rally the Democratic base and rally they did. But will it be enough? “If everybody that voted in 2008 shows up in 2010, we will win this election. We will win this election. But you’ve got to come out and vote,” Obama shouted over deafening cheers. But his year’s voter turnout promises to look dramatically different that it did two years ago. The crowd was excited to see the president, for sure, but whether or not they will be inspired to vote for Murray is another question.

Washington is one of the few remaining states where Obama’s approval rating is still close to 50 percent, and Murray is one of the few remaining incumbents who is still asking for his help. She certainly needs it — the latest polling shows a dead heat between her and Republican Dino Rossi, which is a little surprising given that Obama won here by 17 points in 2008. The president’s visit (his second of the year) certainly indicates that Democrats are worried. Kenneth R. Mayer, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told BATTLE ‘10 several weeks ago that President Obama’s attendance at a similar campus rally in Madison, on behalf of embattled Sen. Russ Feingold, was an enormous sign of weakness. “It’s like a Republican having to go to Dallas or Salt Lake City,” Mayer said. Today’s rally had a similar feel to it — Obama in his liberal bubble, safe from the real world. It was clear that many in the crowd firmly believe Obama is the greatest person on the planet.

For her part, Patty “Queen of Pork” Murray stuck her guns, touting her ability to bring federal dollars back to Washington state. Of course, this crowd ate it up. Meanwhile, Dino Rossi held a press conference to discuss Murray’s record on earmarks, reiterating his pledge to ban the earmark process until there is a balanced budget. BATTLE ‘10 will have that story, and more, shortly.