I live in Cincinnati Ohio, battleground state and acknowledged bastion of consewrvatism.
Yesterday when I got home, the 2 t-shirts, 2 buttons and 10 yard signs that I ordered the day Kerry/Edwards stuff became available had come in. I walked outside with a Kerry/Edwards sign to replace my Kerry sign and, was immediately acosted by a neighbor wondering if I had a spare sign. Of course I did, that is what I bought them for.
Last night I donned one of the t-shirts and my wife and I went out to dinner at a small Italian place in the gaslight district (Biagio's if you must know). I carried a yard sign that I was planning to drop off and if you carry a yard sign or wear a Kerry button or shirt, it is not possible to walk down the street without people stopping you and asking if you have more. whjile we ate with a yard sign leaning on the table and me wearing my t-shirt, we were approached by 4 different people looking for paraphenalia or just wanting to talk.
There has been a sea change. We are now the cool kids. I wrote earlier about the experience of working the Kerry booth but, after Thursday's speech, whatever the pundits (and KOS <harumph>) thought of it, people are more excited than they were by an order of magnitude. People are energized, excited and they want to display their Kerry yard signs and they want to talk about him and his policies.
On the other hand, Bush supporters that you meet politely decline your offers to get them signed up without any of the arrogance we have become accustomed to. They are almost shy and won't dsay that they support Bush, they say that they 'aren't interested' and wait for their friends to finish talking to you. These are votes we can get folks.
Blogging is my favorite activity and for all the benefits of blogging, I am finding that feet on the street is even cooler. Bloggers are needed on the streets because we have been paying attention. When the hard questions are asked, we have the answers. The average supporter can't answer questions that you people can answer in our sleep.
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A few of the questions I have fielded are:
I heard a guy on the radio saying that Kerry isn't really a hero, that those kinds of things were routine.
How did the US create Saddam Hussein? bin Laden?
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I am begging you all to use the knowledge ou have gleaned from your blogging to make a difference in the actual campaign. People want and need to know what you have learned and you won't have to beg them to listen... they will ask and listen respectfully.
I have to go. I have 25 yeard signs to install this afternoon.