Democrats' rain dance works

Charlotte on Tuesday. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Has any parade organizer ever been so happy to have its parade rained on?

The Democrats insist they're sad that a forecast of possible rain "forced" them to move Barack Obama's convention-capping speech out of a 74,000-seat Bank of America Stadium and into the 19,000-seat Time Warner Cable Arena.

"Disappointed for the 65k people who had credentials and the 19k on the waiting list for Thursday night," the party's communications director wrote on Twitter.

The change, however, ensures Obama won't speak to swaths of empty seats. It also allows him to avoid a venue named for an unpopular bank that contributed to the financial crisis.

The campaign had said as late as Tuesday that the outdoor event would proceed "rain or shine."

"Obama speech moved on account of 40% chance of rain and 100% chance of insufficient attendance," conservative pundit Jonah Goldberg wrote Wednesday.