This is my first entry in what will be a weekly series of Canvass diaries. Like many of you, I spent my time during the primaries glued to the television, surfing channels between MSNBC, CNN, and CSpan. I listened to the pundits and yelled at them in outrage. I constantly checked the polls, surfed the web for information, and quckly became an election media junkie. I realized the power of financial contributions, maxed out my donations, and even canvassed a few times. Now we're in the general election and the frustration is starting again. I find myself taking personal offense when someone with an ego like Joe Scarborough actually thinks it's appropriate to call Barack Obama arrogant. I feel my blood boil when the media has the nerve to brand the Obama campaign as players of the race card. I feel so passionately about this election and I've decided not to let my frustration with the media and the arrogance of the McCain campaign turn me into a wreck again. I'm taking my Obama energy to the streets.
Before this election, I had never canvassed before. I went out a few times during the primary, but the weather was awful in Ohio at that time and canvassing was rough. I wasn't sure if I was going to canvass during the general election until I got a call from Katie, who is running the Obama office in my city. She called me on Thursday and we met for coffee on Friday morning. As we discussed the campaign and what I could do as a volunteer, the subject of canvassing came up early. Katie made a few points that hit home with me so I decided to give canvassing a try again:
- Nothing is more powerful than neighbors talking to neighbors - people in a community can influence each other.
- There is nothing offensive about asking someone who they are going to vote for and letting them know why you've chosen your particular candidate.
- More people are persuaded to vote for a candidate through canvassing than any other marketing method. It's a chance to engage a person, answer questions, and really affect their decision.
During our conversation, I decided to harness my energy and frustration and turn it into something positive and constructive. I agreed to canvass again.
I showed up at the office at 10:00 on Saturday. Out of eight people who had agreed to volunteer, three of us showed up. I live in a suburb of Cleveland and "white, working class" would probably be the best description. After a brief training we were sent out in pairs with our packets of turf. My canvass partner was a woman in her 60s (I'm 40 years old) and we hit it off right away. I have to say that it wasn't easy. A lot of people weren't home, but here is a summary of the conversations I did have.
Neighbor 1 - 51 year old male. Undecided, independent voter. He didn't express much concern about either candidate and didn't throw up any Obama smear information. He just said he was an independent voter and was going to really examine each candidates policies, watch the debates, and do a lot of research before he made a decision.
Neighbor 2 - 75 year old female. She wasn't home but I noticed a huge photograph of John and Cindy McCain in her window, so I marked her off as a McCain supporter and moved on.
Neighbor 3 - 79 year old female. Very pleasant but said she has always voted Republican and would continue to do so. She didn't mention McCain by name and even apologized. We had a very pleasant exchange and she and I were both smiling when I left as I wished her a nice day. My goal on this one was just to leave her with a positive image of the campaign in case she had second thoughts.
Neighbor 4 - 20 year old female. She was friendly but shy and seemed a little anxious about her chance to vote in her first election. Her mom came to the door during our conversation and mentioned that a McCain sign would be going in the window soon. At this point, the 20 year old came outside and continued to talk to us. She was undecided but seemed interested in collecting information. I urged her to put a lot of thought into her vote, take the responsibility seriously, and to research the issues that were important to her as a 20 year old woman. I directed her to Barackobama.com and fightthesmears.com and she agreed to check both of them out.
Neighbor 5 - This was the last house. At this point, I was getting frustrated. My canvass partner had spoken to a few Obama supporters as well as a few McCain supporters and had also faced the "don't trust him", "he's arrogant", "he's inexperienced" concerns. We approached the last house together and the person on the list no longer lived there. However, the woman who answered the door was friendly and told us she was undecided. She didn't like John McCain but just didn't know enough about Barack Obama. We started discussing different ways the current economy had affected all of us, her positions on issues, our positions on issues and you could feel the connection forming between the three of us. She asked for a lot of information, but since my partner and I are well versed in Obama's positions, we could answer all of her questions and at the end of conversation she said she felt like she knew a lot more about him and would most likely vote for him.
I felt so happy as I tallied my canvass sheet back at the office. This is what canvassing is about - the informed voter sharing information with the less informed voter, neighbors sharing their stories with other neighbors, and all of us realizing what's at stake in this election. I spoke to Katie and agreed to canvass every weekend until election day.
On the Dailykos we do spend a lot of time discussing what the Obama campaign needs to do. I'm not criticizing that at all, but I think it's time to hit the streets and focus on what we can do. I realize canvassing is an uncomfortable thing, but if anyone is capable of engaging their neighbors in constructive political discussions it is the people that post on this website. We are the informed voters and it's our responsibility to share what we know with our neighbors.
So I have committed to canvassing for Barack Obama every Saturday until election day and I'm swearing off the pundits until they can report on this election responsibly. I'm sure many of you have already canvassed for Obama, but if you haven't, please give it a try. The internet is a phenomenal tool and a great way to share views and influence people. However, it's basically anonymous and I truly believe that there is no more powerful form of communication than a face to face discussion between neighbors.