John McCain hadn't even shown up yet for the John Rich concert Friday evening in Panama City when the first e-mail came to this reporter:

"Rumor has it that the mccain folks there are clearing sections and pushing the crowd around so it looks more full. What happened to the rpof spin that they were making it free because they found a sponsor?"

The e-mail came from a Democratic operative and here's the reply I dashed off on a BlackBerry: "It's pretty big crowd, not huge but big."

He writes back: "I hear it is like 600 people. In a county with 170,000 residents - also in one of the most republican areas in the state. ... In 2004, George Bush (Appearing with McCain) had 23,000 people show up."

You see where this is going.

Democrats wanted reporters (there was a handful of Florida newspaper reporters and a ton of national press) covering the event to note a pathetic
turnout.

Crowd size is a legitimate measure of enthusiasm for a
candidate and a free concert featuring a well-known country singer (click here
for the live version of Raisin' McCain) and
a presidential nominee should be a big draw. So the guy had a point. Still, the 600 estimate was decidedly lowball spin.

A McCain spokesman on scene said he did not have an official tally
and the consensus among journalists was it was around 1,000. The figure
was reported by the St. Petersburg Times and the Wall Street Journal.

But Republicans were sending messages to reporters, too.

"On
background, there seems to be some confusion over how many folks
attended the John Rich concert tonight in Panama City. There were 3,000
people in attendance according to the United States Secret Service,
which has a pretty good handle on these things."

If 600 is low and 3,000 is high, let's just say it was a "pretty big crowd. Not huge, but big."