In his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination tonight, President Obama not only reminded us of the stakes in this election and the accomplishments of the past four years, but reminded us of the path that made those accomplishments possible.
"It's because of you." The people who showed up, who walked neighborhoods, who made calls, who watched polls, and above all, who showed up to vote. Those are the people in 2008 who turned state after state blue, including ones that had not done so since Americans who rely on Medicare today were too young to vote.
"It's because of you." Will it be again?
Two months from today, the election will be over. Two months.
Two months to volunteer. Two months to make calls. Two months to organize events. Two months to get our friends, our neighbors, our families to vote.
And we know, if we just get people to vote, we will return Barack Obama to the White House for four more years. There are simply more registered voters who are inclined to support his leadership over the weak, craven, and dangerous extremism of his opponents.
That is to say, there are more Americans who are registered to vote. To call them voters requires having them exercise their power at the ballot. Today, the polls are close, but Nate Silver said President Obama would be a big favorite if those registered citizens got fired up enough to cast votes.
There’s one advantage that President Obama has that Mitt Romney probably doesn’t. If he can get a good turnout from his base, he’ll be the heavy favorite to win in November — even if Mr. Romney gets a strong turnout as well.
Such a turnout not only could make sure the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be spent tearing him down over the next two months don't work, but that he has coattails to return Democrats to the majority in the House and retain Democrats in the majority in the Senate.
The president knows this. That's why he reminded us that what happened in 2008 wasn't something he did.
"It's because of you."
Are you in?