Thousands Rally in Capital to Protest Big Government

I wrote to Jeff Zeleny, whose byline appears above the article at the New York Times online.

"A sea of protesters", really? A large sea? Or a small sea?

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001773.html

Yes, I realize that "sea of" is a figure of speech, with no particular amount being indicated. "Tens of thousands" is a similar figure of speech, connoting a number somewhere between 20,000 and 100,000. Recent anti-war protests have been much larger; 200,000, for instance, in one small city.

A more appropriate metaphor for a turnout of 20,000 would have been "lake", or perhaps "large puddle".

And who are Theo Emery and Ashley Southall?

Thank you

Marvin Hampton