Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Indiana Diaries: Working with the Obama Campaign


Countdown to Election Day


Tuesday, October 28

The election is exactly one week away. Last night I finally saw an ad contradicting the smear ads now running on local television. FINALLY!!!! They were very well done and very effective....

The website http://taxcut.barackobama.com/ is online and it allows everyone to plug in their own personal information and see for themselves what their tax cut would be under the Obama plan. Very cool. Also http://stopthesmears.com/ helps dispell all the rumors. Luckily AOL also ran an article today that helped identify all of the lies currently flying around.


Monday, October 27

Very busy today. We had volunteers making calls all throughout the day. The guys left early to go to a training session in Muncie at 9 p.m. WHEW. It's a 30-minute drive and they have to be back in the office the next day.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

No heat this morning. But I really didn’t notice. I was checking my clothes for more creepy crawlers. Didn’t find any, thank goodness. We had a slow day at the campaign office. More calls and more volunteers to try to schedule to help get out the vote.

Saturday, October 25

Today was very busy. We had a number of volunteers come to the office for training on working the polls and on how to canvass. At noon we had a Early Vote party. I realized that all five of the people who attended were new volunteers contacted by me, either by the web listing I posted or through Rebecca. Two additional people came in to see Jake and we corralled them in to voting.

I hate to stereotype, but as I suspected, I had to do some last minute running around to really get us ready. The pulled pork sandwiches arrived sans rolls. We had no dessert or side dishes and utensils were scarce. I ran out and got potato salad, bowls and serving spoons. Julia, one of the democratic committee leaders here, got potato chips, ice and sodas.

Adam fired up his i-pod for music and we had a good turn-out. We got a new volunteer to phone bank, the son of one of Becky’s friends. I think it was the first time he voted, which was pretty cool.

The canvassing training was interesting. We had one girl who was pretty chatty. I asked her to pass out stickers to volunteers and she really grew in to that role. I was proud of her and our team.

Tonight I found a huge centipede in my room on the wall near the door. Needless to say, I slept on the couch most of the night, next to the living room light. I did go back into my room around 4 a.m., but I slept with the light on and on top of the covers. Why they created centipedes is beyond me. I wonder if it’s a sign that I need to move. I wonder if I brought the creature with me in my luggage, since I have been constantly fighting to get rid of them at home. EEEYOUUUUU!!!

Friday, October 24

Called in to John Watson’s talk show on WILM-AM today to promote the Drive for Change in Delaware. I wonder if it did any good????


Thursday, October 23, 2008


On Thursday we travelled to Indianapolis to hear Senator Obama address a crowd of approximately 35 thousand people. We left bright and early at 6 a.m. in the morning and got there around 7.

Although we had to stand for several hours straight, we were right in front and well positioned to hear him speak. It was encouraging to see so many different types of people there, Black, white, Hispanics of all races, Asian. His message was one of unity and cooperation, a far cry from the hateful, devisive tactics used by the other party in recent years. Here are some photos from the event:


Monday, October 20

My first day at the Anderson Field Office was awesome. They got me set up to make telephone calls to prospective.

Becky invited me to attend the NAACP debate of local candidates. More than a dozen people lined up on the stage to state their case for office. Interestingly enough, there was a live radio show that broadcast during the second hour. They stopped the debate for each commercial break to work around his schedule.

A group of us ate at Red Lobster and talked a little politics. Day two in Anderson, my first full work day mission accomplished.


Sunday, October 19

It took me two days to drive 10 hours, but I was glad I paced myself instead of trying to drive all of it in one fell swoop.

Google maps is pretty phenomenal. You can print pictures of key intersections for visual landmarks each step of the way. That’s pretty cool.

I rolled into Anderson, Indiana at around 4 p.m. and first stopped at a Big Lot’s to get a few supplies. I met my house-mate, Becky, and we seem to hit it off well. I think it’s going to be a great two weeks and a great experience over all.

We went out for a late nite dinner at Appleby’s. I had a shrimp and spinach salad. First night accomplished with a flourish.

Saturday, October 18

I've finally been deployed to help with the Barack Obama Campaign for Change. Destination: Anderson, Indiana. I'm "fired up and ready to go...."

I stopped overnight at a Holiday Inn near Wheeling, Ohio. Treated myself to a movie and laughed my way through Beverly Hills Chihuahua before going to bed early.

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