Hundreds of West Seattle Democrats filed into the combined lunchroom and gymnasium at Gatewood Elementary School Saturday afternoon to debate with their neighbors over whether Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton ought to get Seattle's political support for the Democrats' presidential nominee.

People gathered around designated tables according to what voting precinct they live in. They listened as the delegates' procedures were read aloud at each individual table. They were encouraged to become members of the 34th District Democratic Organization.

Sen. Barack Obama won about two-thirds of the delegates and Sen. Hillary Clinton received about one-third in the Washington Democrats' caucuses last Saturday. The 34th District elected 1,044 delegates. Obama got 736, Clinton got 293, and there were 15 uncommitted delegates elected.

This might be a historic presidential election for the nation and West Seattle Democrats played their role and enacted their power at 18 caucuses held all over West Seattle last weekend.

Even though there is a real race for the party's presidential nomination, there were few outward signals at Gatewood Elementary School of the national political struggle. The only sign of partisanship at last Saturday's caucuses was when two people walked through the middle of the gymnasium-lunchroom carrying a couple of placards saying "Hillary for president" and "Obama in '08."

Every once in a while, a cheer with applause would be thrown across the large room.

At another precinct meeting, a balding man with a round blue "Obama for president" decal stuck to the middle of his forehead sat quietly listening to the discussion among his precinct neighbors.

A new level of enterprising campaigning was struck by a young man and his wife. They were wearing Obama for president T-shirts they had dyed with artistic touches to show their political support.

The most visible difference among the 34th District caucuses this year as compared to caucuses during recent elections was in the unusually huge number of people who showed up.

Gatewood Elementary School was one of 18 meeting places in West Seattle for those who consider themselves Democrats. People living in about 10 nearby voting precincts met at the school and each precinct went through the debating period when invited to share their testimonial as to why they supported either Clinton or Obama. There was a time devoted to those who, after listening to the pros and cons of the candidates, could change their original vote.

Since each precinct moved at its own pace through the official procedures, every precinct was at a different point in the proceedings. Add the seemingly inescapably lousy acoustics that come with every school multipurpose rooms and the whole caucus procedure can seem disorderly.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at timstc@robinsonnews.com or 932.0300.