John McCain's public targeting of Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes has done much to inspire the Obama campaign's boots on the ground. The GOTV efforts are in full swing here in Delaware County. I was fortunate enough to be amongst fellow fired up volunteers today as we knocked on doors and made phone calls.
Delaware County is not devoid of Obama supporters, but the competition for votes here will be fierce come Election Day. Thankfully, Obama's campaign presence here is tremendous with field offices in Media, Upper Darby, and Chester among others. The union folks who have been knocking on doors (the SEIU has had quite a visible presence) have been a terrific help as well.
I knocked on doors all afternoon in Glen Mills and Media. I managed to find enough Obama supporters who promised to vote on November 4th to soothe whatever discomfort I've had at the sight of a sea of McCain/Palin lawn signs. This dear county of mine is full of Republicans who vocally support their candidates all the way down to the state Senate. I see it every day in my neighborhood and in the area where I work as well.
When I engaged in voter registration canvassing the weekend before the deadline, the field organizer told us that we will have to scrounge for every vote that we possibly can. I knocked on doors in Yeadon that weekend, which is a predominately African-American community with support for Obama pouring out of every corner of the neighborhood. I'm hoping for the same support in similar communities in Upper Darby and Chester. High turnout from the college kids who attend Widener and Swarthmore Universities among others will also be a big help.
I will be out knocking on more doors tomorrow in whatever neighborhoods the GOTV staging area in Boothwyn sends me to. Ideally, Obama will win the city of Philadelphia by enough of a margin to cancel out Republican gains in the rest of the state. Just in case that doesn't happen, my neighbors and I will be scrounging and scraping for votes in this fairly red, but not blood red, county of ours.
My prescription for allaying fears and anxieties that you may have about this election now that it's down to the wire: get involved and do something to affect the outcome!