I am from the Fond du Lac and Oshkosh area. Obama came to speak at the UW-Oshkosh campus on Friday. I arrived two hours early to get seats so I could hear him speak. The lines were two blocks long when I arrive at 11:30 am.
Here are some of my first impressions about the Obama campaign. One, they are truly organized. They had volunteers out with pen and paper asking for contact information. His workers were asking people to stop by the office in downtown Oshkosh to do phone banking or provide whatever assistance they could.
Two, Obama is a good speaker, and he connects well with the crowd. Even though I've heard him use the same lines before in other speeches, he does come across as sincere and caring.
I only have one criticism about Obama's speech. He should get more facts about the community issues and worked them into his speech. For example, Wisconsin is experiencing a brain drain in the state. Many college graduates are leaving the state because there are no jobs or low paying jobs.
As far as political ads, both Obama and Clinton have some media exposure. For what its worth, I hear more Clinton ads on the radio and see most Obama ads on cable television news channels. Also the Clinton campaign has sent out mailers this weekend. To date, no mailers from the Obama campaign. And, I have not recieved one phone call from either Obama or Clinton.
From my conversations thus far, Wisconsin will be a squeaker. Outside of Milwuakee and Madison, the population is White blue collar workers who strongly favor Clinton. If Obama manages a win, it will be a true surprise.
My congress critter is Tom Petri, a Republican from Fond du Lac who gets support from Dems and Repub alike. Petri has NOT had a strong Democratic challenger in 10 years. But this district is changing. My state assemblyman is Gordon Hintz - a rising star in the state assembly. Hintz won the open seat after it was held for decades by the Republicans.
So to all the naysayers about the 50 state strategy, we must compete to enlarge the party. My district is a prime example of one that could possibly get flipped in another two or three election cycles.