[Oe List ...] A day of canvassing

[Marsha Hahn]

A preface to all of you non-Americans: Thank you for your forbearance as we
gnash our teeth over the mess we have made.

 

Pat and I took a three hour drive to Davenport, Iowa yesterday to volunteer
with the Obama campaign.  We were responding to a request for Illinois
residents to help in the "battleground" states that surround us.

We arrived to join about 40-50 others, some from Illinois and some who were
local.  Pat and I were given a packet with a map and list of 80 addresses,
along with literature.  It was very organized.  Each address had the names
of the resident with whom we were to speak, the person's age, gender, and
whether or not they identified as a Democrat, Republican, or claimed no
party affiliation.  We had very specific instructions about whether to try
to "persuade" or to give information about "early voting."  As a rule, we
were talking only with Democrats or unaffiliated people.

What a day:

*         One woman greeted us with "I'm for Obama.  How can I get a yard
sign?"  Then she told us she had voted for Bush the last two elections as
she pounded her forehead with the palm of her hand (as in, "how could I have
been so stupid!")  She said, "If I put out an Obama yard sign my neighbors
will KNOW it's okay for them to vote for him."  She told us she had been
trying to persuade her brother, who had staunchly held out for McCain until
Sarah Palin was chosen.  "Then he called me and said, 'That's it.  I'm on
your side now!'"

*         One elderly Korean-American woman came to her door and smiled
broadly.  "Forty-two years I've voted Democrat!  Just like my husband did!"

*         One man, retired, told us he was "on the fence."  But he stepped
outside and started talking.  He didn't have a lot of education - spoke like
a good blue-collar guy.  He told us how appalled he was at the Palin pick,
how she clearly wasn't up to the task - this while continually looking back
at me to emphasize that it wasn't that he was against a woman being VP, just
not this woman.

*         One guy saw our Obama buttons and yelled at us, saying he didn't
want any Communists or Socialists.  So I smiled and said, "So I guess you're
voting McCain?"  "No, I can't stand him either!"  He was the only person who
was belligerent.

Lots of people weren't home, but we figure we helped a few who were
undecided move a little closer to Obama.  And we cheered on those who were
already there.  We wished the few McCain supporters well.

Doris and I were talking and she was saying how silly our election process
is here.  It's kind of true.  Think of all the time and treasure that is
spent on this.  But it's what we have right now, and there's no changing it
this year.

Our testimony is: there are a hundred ways you can do something to make a
real difference right now.  Volunteer locally, phone battleground states
from home, contribute what you can.

We were hot and tired when we finished and started our 3-hour trek home.
But we felt great.

Marsha Hahn

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