Stupid People Alert

This morning, as I was still basking in the afterglow of the Phillies' (!) World Series championship, I got on the train to go back to the city.

I had this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer - which screamed "CHAMPS" in bright red letters on the front - in my hand as I took my seat. A middle-aged, blue collar "Joisey" guy and his wife saw the paper and said something about how they weren't able to find a copy. I explained that my parents get the paper delivered to their house, and I had just picked it up on my way out the door.

I chuckled to myself as I opened the paper, not really believing that I had just a chat with Phillies fans - strangers - the morning after their world championship.

After a few minutes went by, and I had submerged myself in the Inquirer, I overheard those same two people talking about something else that I take very seriously:

"Yeah, he was in Miami last night, saying 'I'm gonna save the world, I'm gonna save the world," the woman sneered as the men shook their heads in disgust.

"He's a scary fucking guy," the man said. "And all these stupid fucking people, these uninformed people, are gonna vote for him."

My ears immediately perked up. I know who they're talking about, I thought. They're talking about Barack Obama.

You know, it's one thing to not like the guy. That's fine. That's your right. Disagree with him all you want, hate him all you want, fear him all you want. Whatever. And, by all means, feel free to trash what he says at his rallies. But if you're going to do this, and you're going to do this LOUDLY on a 7:36 train to New York City, at least get your fucking facts right.

You see, I've been to a Barack Obama rally, and I've watched many on TV. The standard ending for his stump speech - and the one he used last night - is "We can change this country, and we can change the world." Not "I'm gonna save the world," like this idiotic woman was shrieking about.

I listened to these people spew their fury some more until finally I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to them and said:

"Ma'am, with all due respect, that's not what he said."

A third guy they had been traveling with immediately whirled around, waved his hand dismissively and growled "Thank you" to me. The woman immediately shushed him, before she and her husband muttered:

"That IS what he said!"

No it wasn't. I'll say it again: crap on the guy all you want. That's your constitutional right, and I would never deprive anyone of that. But, once more, get your fucking facts right!

The tragedy of the McCain campaign has been that they have done NOTHING to stop the vicious, dangerous smears and rumors their conservative base has been peddling amongst one another. They have been enablers to a community of people who really, truly believe that the man who may be the next President is some kind of Muslim/terrorist/communist/anti-Christ/cult leader. They really believe this, and the McCain campaign has done nothing to say, "Hey, you know what? That's not true, and that's dangerous shit to be peddling. Don't say stuff like that."

These people are out there, and Lord knows the Republicans won't do anything to stop this crap. We have to defeat these people - soundly - and put an end to the disgusting ignorance that is threatening to deprive America of this moment. These people are awful, and they have been harming our country. We cannot let them win - or steal a victory - again.

The kicker in all this? After I stepped in, they stopped talking. After a while, they went at it again, albeit much more quietly than before. I still was able to hear a little bit, though, and distinctly remember this one final little sound bite:

"And you know what? It's not all George Bush's fault."

And on that note, I say: God help us all.

Thoughts From the Field

So I've been volunteering for Obama as much as possible during October, first in Philadelphia and now in Bristol, PA (just north of Philly). It's been great fun, a lot of learning and an almost therapeutic experience for me, as I finally am involved in a political campaign.

Today, a couple staffers were fretting over the polls - worried that they're too good to be true - and it started to make me nervous. Like I've said before, optimism isn't really in my nature. So I probably wouldn't be positive even if I had all the reason in the world to behave as such.

So, yeah, I'm nervous about this thing. Cautiously optimistic is about as far as I'll go. But as I've spent time in Obama offices, met voters face-to-face and over the phone, I can't help but think: there's no way the McCain campaign can match our effort. No way. In Bristol, we have a woman who is here from California, and has been here for four weeks already! We've got people from every walk of life, every shape and size, every color and ethnicity, all working for little or no pay because they believe so passionately in Barack Obama's candidacy.

It's a beautiful thing to be a part of, and I just don't see how the McCain campaign could have anywhere near the number of people, anything close to the organization, anything remotely approaching the enthusiasm that we have. The Obama campaign, from top to bottom, in a million different ways, is an absolute miracle. I repeat: a miracle. We've got to finish the job, and that will be simply the icing on the cake, but to be here... wow.

As Tim Russert would say, what a country.

Good for us.

Obama's Secret Weapon: New Voters

Even when the polls look good for Obama, I still think they may be misrepresenting his support - that is, the polls may actually be low-balling the actual numbers he'll get on Election Day. I believe that there are hundreds of thousands, and potentially millions, of first-time voters out there - some of whom are just registering now or will soon, before the deadlines - who will be casting a ballot this November for Obama.

Think about it: polls track two types of voters, "registered" voters and "likely" voters. "Registered" means - well, that should be obvious. "Likely" means that you've voted in the last few presidential elections (I forget what the number is exactly, and some pollsters might do it slightly differently, I think). If you're a new voter this time around, chances are you're not registered yet, but that you're voting for Barack Obama. You won't show up in any of these polls because you are not "registered" or "likely," but you are indeed voting, and you're going O.

We of course don't know exactly how many people like this are out there. For that, we'll have to wait until November 4th. All I know is that, in one day thus far of volunteering at an Obama field office in a racially and ethnically hetereogeneous section of Philly, several people came in to register to vote. Obviously these people are brand-new voters, and judging by the fact that they were in our office, you'd assume they're voting for Obama (duh).

Here's what Rhodes Cook says over at Rasmussen Reports:

Since President George W. Bush's reelection in 2004, the Democrats have registered nearly 1.3 million additional voters while the Republicans have lost nearly 800,000. This, as states prepare to close their registration rolls in advance of the general election.

Not every one of the newly minted Democrats is a sure vote for Barack Obama next month. Some crossed over from the ranks of Republicans and independents solely to cast a primary ballot for Hillary Clinton. But many of the new Democrats registered long before the primaries or since then, creating a large pool of likely new voters for Obama. They comprise a necessary asset for the Democratic nominee in offsetting some powerful factors that could work against him.

Add to that the Obama campaign's vast resources, seemingly sound strategy and - at the moment - momentum and wind at their backs, and even I can find reason to remain (cautiously) optimistic about November.

Dan Joins the Movement

Today - shockingly - was my first day volunteering for the Obama campaign, and my first day - even more shockingly - ever volunteering for a political campaign.  My first, not my last, and it might not be long before I decide to do this for a living.  Maybe.  I don't know.  We'll see.  Shut up.

Anyway, today I spent a lot of time on the computer and on the phone (sound familiar?).  The difference was that, instead of sitting on my ass in my apartment, I was at an Obama campaign office in Philadelphia introducing myself to voters as "Dan from the Barack Obama campaign."  You can imagine my thrill over that.

It was a relatively brief, decidedly simple yet ultimately happily rewarding experience.  The neighborhood for this particular office is a very Obama-esque mix - lots of ethnic whites, and a large black and Latino population.  That's how the office (not surprisingly) was, as well.  I called a bunch of people, several of whom sounded ecstatic to be called, and helped register new voters who regularly came into the office.  It was great to finally actually contribute, in my own small way.

I'm a little annoyed that the campaign never contacted me about attending Camp Obama, considering they wanted me to be an Organizing Fellow (though I couldn't do it) and I'm so clearly fucking perfect for something like that.  But from now on, no one will ever be able to say I didn't contribute to this or any other political campaign.  And this is only the beginning, to which I say:

Yes.  We.  Can.