After discussing the Diabolical McCain, his embarrassing sidekick, the debates, current poll results, and current media coverage of the election, the nice Move-on.org volunteer who phone-banked me last Saturday asked if I might be willing to lend a hand at my local campaign office this Saturday (today). I explained that I was terribly shy and might not be the most effective mouthpiece for the campaign. She told me that she is shy too, and that the campaign would provide me with a fool-proofed script that would get me through any contacts I might have with potential voters.
After hearing about how rewarded she feels as a Move-on.org and Obama Campaign volunteer, I agreed to show up this morning at 10:00. When we hung up, I thought, "What have I done? I can't do this!" Then, I thought about the number of people who probably offer to volunteer and never show up. I also thought about the last presidential election and how frustrated I was when my friends said they would vote and didn't. In that moment, I realized that this campaign needs me the way I felt John Kerry needed them. With that, I made up my mind that I was going to show up no matter what.
As the week progressed and I read your "first-time-canvassing" diaries, my courage grew and I became more and more excited. Then, Friday night came, and my nerves bundled into a knot in my gut that wouldn't allow me to sleep. My mind wouldn't rest. I tossed and turned all last night, worrying about how I might fare if the campaign asked me to canvass. I fell asleep at around 5 a.m. only to awaken at 8:00 a.m. I was tired and still nervous, but I knew that if I gave myself permission to stay in bed, I would never reschedule so I gave myself another little pep-talk about how I had to keep my commitment.
I arrived at my local headquarters and saw that the volunteers had covered an entire wall with handwritten notes from people telling this campaign why Obama has to win. One of those messages was written by a child who said that Obama had to win because she was afraid for her future. I fought back tears and decided that I would do whatever the organizers asked me to do.
Then, before we went out, it was revealed that there was a three-foot-high box full of ticket stubbs with contact info for potential supporters. It was then that- yes, you guessed it, I almost chickened out again. I offered to stay and do data entry- but the organizer reminded me of how important today's canvassing project would be. With that, he scooted me out the door and I was off to knock our way into the White House.
A Great Experience
I was assigned a partner who was very sweet and she had her 17-year-old daughter with her. We were very different, but our passion for Barack and for this election gave us plenty to talk about. She was also very gracious- she patiently explained the proper and improper ways to canvass, and she demostrated her technique at a few addresses before I crossed the street to work my way down my assigned list.
A good number of the people on my list weren't home or had moved, but the people who were home wanted to vote for Barack and didn't understand our new early voting privilege here in Ohio. I didn't meet any of the hard-to-sway people I've read about here, but I did get an opportunity to tell people who may not have shown up on November 4 how important their vote is in this election.
When we were finished, I went back to the office to turn in my materials. It was there that I was able to meet people in my age group (their thirties) who are so passionate about this election that they volunteer every day. Many of them admitted that cavassing is not their cup of tea, but they all agreed that it is vitally important. The energy was so positive there. The other volunteers were just happy to have an additional pair of hands to help out.
I asked where I could sign up to do more, and they showed me where I could sign up for the phone banking that will occur up until election day. I didn't want to overcommit, so I volunteered the rest of my Wednesday nights. On my way out the door, one of the organizers asked if I could stay for another hour or two. I told him I couldn't stay today, but that I'll be back tomorrow. I am really excited about going back there, and I will canvass again tomorrow if that's what they need. I'm also going to go in after work to help them to enter that huge box of tickets into their database.
So that's my narrative, Kos. I am happy that I didn't chicken out, and I look forward to lending my time and my passion to this campaign.
GO BARACK OBAMA!!!
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