[Oe List ...] A day of canvassing

[Paula Philbrook]

Thank you Marsha and Pat.
Paula

On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 8:01 PM, Marsha Hahn <mhahn013 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>  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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>


-- 
Paula
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