Large, enthusiastic crowd on hand for Wing Ding

CLEAR LAKE - It was a ballpark-like atmosphere inside and outside the Surf Ballroom on Friday night as about 2,000 people poured in to hear presentations by four Democratic presidential candidates.

Outside, supporters of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley stood on the street holding banners high and shouting enthusiastically, as if to compete with one another for most noise.

Inside, more than 160 media representatives from across the country set up shop in the back of the ballroom to report on the 'oohs” and 'has” of the crowd and the messages of the candidates.

'There's Chuck Todd,” shouted one woman, seeing the moderator of NBC's 'Meet the Press.”

'Where's Bernie?” shouted another woman, looking around in search of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, one of the featured candidates.

Besides Clinton, O'Malley and Sanders, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee also was scheduled to speak. A fifth candidate, former Navy secretary and Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, had a schedule conflict and could not attend.

Ann Kuhlman of Mason City had an 'Invest in Kids” sticker on her blouse. 'I'm not supporting anyone yet,” she said. 'I'm here to listen.”

John Stone, Cerro Gordo County Democratic chairman, said, 'In years past, people got their meals and sat at tables. There was no room for that this year. They're sitting in folding chairs and have their plates on their laps. It will be all right. They'll figure it out.”

Some early birds managed to find booths, but that space filled up quickly.

One woman, wedged into the long food line, said, 'It's like salmon going upstream.”

Sam Lau of the Iowa Democratic Party looked at the overflow crowd and said, 'This shows what a great job the Wing Ding Committee has done and how enthusiastic Democrats are about their candidates this year.”

Josh Levitt, also of the Iowa Democratic Party, said, 'This is a perfect venue for an event like this. It has history, it has atmosphere and something a little different for the candidates.”