second line

Turns out the Obama watch party wasn't a bust after all. They will still caucusing which is why they weren't watching. In accordance with the caucus rules, they were supposed to start @ 6 pm and end @ 7 pm. Problems were encountered that keep them going until well past 8 pm, notably, a lot more people (at least 75 percent of which were Obama supporters) showed up to caucus than were expected by the Democratic party, and they didn't have room in the hall for everyone. People waited in line, and the weather was really, really crappy (rain, sleet, snow) for as long as 2 hours to get into the caucus hall and at one location, everyone was eventually forced outside by the fire marshall so the group ended up caucusing in the parking lot.

Such snafus point out the anachronistic nature of the caucus system. First you have a very narrow time slot in which to declare your support for your candidate, and then, you can't just cast your vote and leave, you have to stay until the process is complete which takes an hour or more. So if you're a parent with a small child, work nights, or just not that keyed into the process, then you're going to be out in the cold. Kansas, which has its fair share of cheapskates, likes the caucus because it means that the parties pay for it, rather than the taxpayers. But really, everyone who cares about the outcome pays for it because voters are disenfranchised.