"Looks like I"m the only going downtown to do some phone banking," I said to my Obama contact. I would be heading down to Dayton to the headquarters and do some major league phone banking among my city's supporters. Since I live in a suburb of Dayton I don't get downtown as often as I used to so to see who comes in and what's happening would be a treat. The only thing bothering me about it is I'd have to miss my six-year-old's soccer game.
The headquarters for Obama is on the corner of the tallest building in downtown Dayton, the Kettering Tower on the corner of East 2nd street and Jefferson. You can't miss the collage picture of Obama's head with the world "change" below it in red, white and blue. A cut out of Obama greets you as you walk in as you glance around the space filled with tables, make shift desk, and partitions to add a little privacy to the workers for the campaign.
It was 6pm.
People coming from work or driving down after getting a quick bite to eat entered the facility to do something for the campaign. A group of young people associated with some local group came by to help make signs and banners for...oh crap, that's right I forgot to say this to you! Barack Obama is coming here in the Dayton area Tuesday so what happened on Monday is the chaos of people checking if they could help or get a seat in the gym Tuesday morning. So walking into this office is not just what you see here, but more...much more.
My contact, along with others with the campiagn, chattered loudly on the phones trying to talk to people volunteering with the campaign to see if they could be a part of the visit Tuesday. After a greeting, I looked into my fellow campaigner's face and saw fatigue starting to settle in. A very long night is planned for himself and his entire crew of young people. Arrangements would be made; staffing would be required; final checks on the high school Obama would attend must be covered (Stebbins High School by the way). So with patience he gave me a stack of numbers from around my voting district. "Ed, I won't lie to you, most of these callers will be over 60+ so you may get a lot of no answers and some who won't be kind to you." Oh c'mon! They can't be that bad, can they?
Several answering machines, a few vocal supports for McCain, and a few slammed phones in my ear later I got my first substantial call from a fifty-something male who gave me some advice (whether I wanted it or not). "You know, it's a good idea not to call someone who is already supporting your candidate." I laughed about it and found the man to be very engaged, but not able to volunteer due to working two jobs and having little time on his own to do what he'd love to do. I told him about the early voting coming up between September 30-October 6; he told me he's voting on Election Day for Obama. I had to sit back and take notice how someone with two jobs is going to make the time to go to the polling place to vote. Seems like the apathy of voting is melting away drip by drip.
More answering machines, more slammed phones in my ear later I find the call of the night. It was from a sweet sixty year old woman who made it clear her vote is an undecided voter with leanings towards Obama. I made my case about how I felt we need competency back in the White House and how an Obama/Biden ticket is the first step towards establishing leadership. I told her about how four more years of this same policy could bankrupt our nation and our world. Then I asked her if it would be okay if we send some information her way so she can make an informed choice about our candidate? (I made a guess she wasn't the computer type of person) She agreed and then proceeded to tell me "I'm glad you're doing this because I don't take to kindly to people knocking on my doors." Major note to me: Make a note on the margins to avoid canvassing this house and instead send material her way to help her with her choice.
I didn't do too bad that night on the phones. 55 callers in my two hour setting. Most of them were left messages and McCain supporters (I think 3 or 4 of those), there were some people in the hospital or had prior commitments, but the rest I got to talk to and found most either leaning to or siding with Obama/Biden. Not a bad night at all.
Tuesday and Wednesday it was my job as team leader to call and make plans for a phone banking night for our local neighborhood group. We met in the newly opened North Dayton office inside one of the union buildings along side I-75 and close to the 75/70 interchange. It was also the day Obama would speak in a high school gym not far from our house. I couldn't go because of work, but Brenda did and told me over the phone of the large traffic causing her to park all the way on the other side of the school. She then got a seat according to her pink ticket all the way up in the bleachers. We both share a concern about Obama's planning for events like these: If you know hundreds of people are coming center the platform so all can see you speak and stop catering to the MSM. Why should they always have the best spot? We ran into this same problem in Dublin, Ohio as we were part of 19,000+ jamming a high school football stadium. Bleachers and field filled, but the staging area was in the corner with lousy speakers. Not good if you're trying to hear the message of the future president of the United States. Bren did find a way to get a bit closer in the small gym to see Obama speak on education and his plans for his vision to help America's youth.
Midway into Cincinnati I get a call from Brenda. She sounded a bit peeved.
"Ed, I think he missed some points."
"What do you mean girl?"
"Well it's good he wants to do this all on education, but what if you are a mother who makes a little too much to afford help or assistance to put your children into daycare?"
This was more of an "us" issue because it's something we've ran into with our daughter. There was more.
"And what about public assistance where someone on welfare can get covered more than I can and I work long hours and can't get my children into the places I want them to go because I make too much?"
We went back and forth on these issues and realized these are the issues many Hillary backers shared because they live through them. I agreed with many of her points, but my main thought was this. "Bren, you're right, and I think he should point out these disparages. Until then, my main thought is to have someone in the White House who will at least listen and ponder what the people are actually saying. I want an honest broker in the White House and whether it's Obama, Biden, Hillary, etc. I want a leader who will listen to the people and not his gut."
A footnote. Brenda used to work for a nurses union in hopes of organizing unions in hospitals for fair wages, so you know what she vocalized to me she made clear our Obama rep knew about regarding her disappointment in not covering these issues. I would later apologize if I didn't have the facts on hand regarding what Obama thought about her concerns and told her I'd try and bring it across to someone from the campaign or fellow progressives who feel the same way she does. We said our goodbyes and I hung up getting back to my delivery route to Cincy.
9-11 came with tears, remembrance, and the joy of knowing we did have some happiness in that troubling year: the birth of my daughter over a month later. It was also time to gear up from the last few weeks of the candidacy and to make a push to get the message across before Election Day.
CNN took a bit of time talking politics showing the battleground states. It was either John King or someone showing the map of Ohio on their fancy flatscreen wall touching on the key areas to send Ohio blue.
Southeast Ohio, yes! Mountain area which went for Clinton, I get it.
Canton, Akron, and Youngstown, okay. Didn't know there was a hodge podge of independent voters there, but I get it.
Then from the Cincinnati area in Hamilton county, through Warren and Butler, into my county of Montgomery county, and Miami and north were shown as areas of north of Miami county were in play. Our area could be the tipping point in securing Sen. Obama the presidency.
No pressure...really.
Friday I came in with my six-year old daughter (mom had to work last night) along with all our folks from our neighborhood phone banking for a couple of hours in the new North Dayton offices. The diggs were nice! Leave it to union people to make a group feel welcome.
A lot of people out on a Friday night with football and other activities. A few slammed phones in my ear; a few McCain supporters. But one call to a 50 year old woman told me it would take work to convince her either candidate can help her situation.
"How can any of them understand how life is when you got two teens in high school who I can't afford to send to college and we're trying to get by on the money we have? This economy is killing us!"
I try to mention some issues like Education, the ecconomy, and health care by telling her how I understand what she's going through and why (I believe) out of the two candidates Barack is the one who would be a better broker for people like her who want to believe, but find it hard to in light of the tough times we live in.
One supporter plans to vote Obama on Nov. 4th but with two teens and two jobs its hard for her to cut time to volunteer, but having her vote warms my heart on a rainy Friday in Dayton.
The one thing I came away with as I took my now bored to death daughter with me in my van is how those names and numbers are not just names and numbers. Each call are human lives; each call have struggles similar to mine; each call differ with me in their choices and have to be respected. If we looked at each vote as not just a number, but we look at them as people who have survived the most gruesome time in American history. Each are wanting to believe in something...someone again. I can't take each call lightly because with each yes vote we are a bit closer to maybe turning the tied to this horrific eight years.
My daughter and I went into Kroger's for a few things to take home for the night. I had my newly warn "Ohio for Obama" t-shirt. Some gave us looks and walked on, others looked in amazement. One guy said it all for me: "GO OBAMA!" My reply, "Yeah, yeaha!"