"Obama wants another ‘boom’ event in Atlanta"

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

We’ll have presidential candidates of both stripes popping in and out of metro Atlanta over the next two weeks.

The largest event looks to belong to Barack Obama. The Democratic presidential candidate is out to hold another huge rally in downtown Atlanta — this one indoors, with a relatively small cover charge.

The event is Sept. 20, the locale is the Georgia World Congress Center, and the cost of admission — in the form of a campaign contribution — is $25.

Sharing the stage will be Usher Raymond IV, the actor/singer who usually goes by a shorter handle, and former Atlanta Hawks great Dominique Wilkins. Wilkins’ presence is interesting.

The last politician we saw him with was Newt Gingrich — the two are partnered in an anti-diabetes, anti-obesity campaign.

In April, on the Georgia Tech campus, Obama drew 20,000. This September event is less about show and more about serious network-building. Among real people, $25 is a significant — though affordable — commitment. And most of those donations will be accompanied by an e-mail address and phone number.

A standard, $1,000-a-head event follows. Invitations for both can be found here and here.