“They’re betting on your apathy,” Obama said of his political opponents Tuesday, addressing a sprawling crowd reminiscent of ones he drew on the campaign trail two years ago. “Madison, you’ve got to prove them wrong.”

Getting the governing party’s base out in force for midterm voting is historically an uphill battle, in large part because the president himself will not be on the ballot. If the crowd in Madison is any indication, however, it seems Democrats still have a fighting chance at driving turnout among the youth vote:

Though details for attending the rally were released only days ago, turnout was substantial. Lines for entrance into the rally, interspersed with a handful of protesters, formed early in the day, eventually stretching longer than a mile west across the campus. The UW Police Department estimates that some 26,500 persons attended the event, of which 17,200 were in the gated area around the mall. These numbers rival, and may exceed those tallied in February 2008 for the Obama campaign rally at the Kohl Center.

An Obama t-shirt from The National band.

The rapper will.i.am was all over the Democratic National Convention last week. He was headlining a big concert in downtown Denver on the night of Obama’s speech, and hobnobbing with George Stephanopoulos at a private Huffington Post panel. He’s famous, at least among Democratic delegates, for the music video hit, “Yes We Can,” that scored Obama’s primary speech. (Among non-delegates, he’s famous for less enlightening songs like “I Got It From My Mama.”) But the Obama campaign is no one-hit wonder.

The campaign’s web team just dropped a new video that leaves Barack behind — “Yes We Can” was all Barack — and turns the spotlight on sign-holding supporters, with music by “The National,” an indie band from Brooklyn. The band is also backing Obama with a “Mr. November” campaign, which raises money and sells T-shirts for the Democratic nominee.

PRODUCTION NOTES: Time-lapse photography sets a dreamy, almost idealistic tone, while a diverse range of Obama supporters discuss their hopes for a more united nation. Several also hold signs promising “hope” and “change.” The production is sleek and professional, matching a low-key instrumental song from The National to images of volunteers and citizens on the move.