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Canvassers Use Palin as "Magic Bullet" in Swaying N.J. and Pa. Undecideds
"Hi, my name is James and I'm a volunteer for Barack Obama's Campaign for Change, how are you doing?" A pause, and hopefully an answer such as "fine, thank you." I ask "Have you made a decision as to whom you're supporting on November 4?"
At this point the script diverges wildly; often, the answer will be a mumbled, "I'm sorry" and a click on the other end of the line, or perhaps "I don't want to say" and I note "refused" in the vote template, or perhaps the answer is "Obama" or "Don't worry, this is an Obama house." Or perhaps, and this is surprisingly infrequent, I get a definitive "McCain" and so I say "Thanks for your time - have a nice day." Always polite, and never ever argumentative or pushy.
That's the short version, but it doesn't usually go that way. First we ask any Obama supporters if they're aware of early voting (beginning October 20 in Florida) and if they need a ride to the polls. After providing the pertinent information, we duly note the answers for follow-up action. Then we ask if they want to volunteer. These are the calls that gladden our hearts, and we get quite a good number of them.
So far, so good, but it's the "undecided" response that gets challenging. I've heard some strange things at this point. There was the lady in Plantation, Florida, who assured me that "Obama plans to tax every person $10,000 and to give them three years to pay it or else!" When I tell her confidently that this is not the case, and in fact Obama proposes the opposite, the voice on the other end says she's still "not sure" since she had heard it from a "good source." During the primary, I had a conversation with a lady in Indiana who declared that "Obama is a Muslim" and she had received several e-mails to prove it. At that point, a reference to his membership in a Christian Church should have sufficed, but as with my Florida discussion, the lady said "I know what I know..." I often have to field questions about Obama's policies; one of the most unusual was the man who asked me about Obama's position on treating autistic children, something he cared deeply about since he had an autistic granddaughter. Thankfully, I was able to give him an answer since it turns out that Barack Obama has a detailed position on autism posted on his fabulous website.
But the most effective response to an undecided voter, the one that always gets an "I think I'm leaning to Obama," is to mention Governor Sarah Palin. She's the magic bullet. I have not talked to a single person who has a favorable opinion of her, not even among McCain supporters. In going door-to-door in Pennsylvania (my weekend activity), bringing up Palin is always met with a furrowed brow and a troubled look. The typical comment I hear is, "How could he have picked her? She really worries me!"
Nor have I ever come across either a caller or a voter door to door who is happy with how things are going in our country. No one is happy, whether Democrat, Republican or Independent. But while McCain supporters I've spoken to express equal unhappiness with the status-quo, sometimes they can be fiercely partisan and downright nasty. For instance, one McCain supporter in Pembroke Pines named Diana told me with a sneer, "He [Obama] doesn't salute the flag." Even though Diana told me she was unhappy with Bush, I realized there wasn't any point in arguing, so I rang off with the standard "have a nice day," and clicked "McCain supporter." Probably the most unpleasant conversation I've had to date was with Jessie, also of Pembroke Pines: "I think he's a socialist and I don't like his friends. Show me someone's friends and I'll tell you how they think," she said with sour satisfaction. Now, there are some phone bankers who would try to convince her otherwise, especially on the absurd "socialist" charge, but I knew Jessie was a "no sale" and answered, "thank you for talking to me and have a nice day." But Jessie had the last word, with "I hope YOU don't!"
It's rare to get abuse on the phone beyond a quick hang up, so after Jessie's call I had to stand up and tell the story to our phone bank chief, the very smart Roy Winnick, who is a paragon of energy and organization. Roy, who in real life is a well-respected biographer and historian, is the brains behind the daytime phone banking at Princeton Democratic Headquarters. As I mentioned in my last post, Princeton's dynamic campaign operation is always jammed with people making buttons, calling local volunteers, doing data entry and phone banking. They include people from all walks of life and positions, including high school students (we get lots of those), Princeton University students, and even a few of the many famous authors residing in the area. Everyone wants to help it seems.
But Jessie's bad wishes didn't compare to my adventures in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, where a group of us from Princeton joined others canvassing door to door this Sunday. As I approached one door, a large black dog bounded out and jumped up on me, proceeding to literally "bump" me off the property while barking wildly. Thankfully the dog turned away when I hit the street. But that's an unusual occurrence, as most people are friendly out on the trail. There are just a few curt "no, thank you's", and enough polite challenges to keep us on our toes. Our lists are targeted, so we don't generally knock on Republican doors, but we've encountered several voters who say something to the effect that "I've been a Republican all my life, but I'm voting for Obama." My friend Philip, a Princeton Professor, had an interesting conversation with a man whose son is on his third tour in Iraq. The entire family, including his soldier son, is emphatically supporting Obama.
Today, we wearily finished our route of 50+ houses by trudging up the weedy driveway to a shabby porch of a house along a busy highway. I was prepared for a suspicious door-slam, but not for the clean-cut young man who welcomed me heartily and enthusiastically signed up as an Obama volunteer. It was a great finale to a satisfying day of hard campaigning.
There is no better way to directly help influence a campaign than canvassing door to door or phone banking. These activities allow even the lowest ranking member of a campaign to have a profound effect on the outcome - to make a difference. It's even possible to make calls directly from home as a member of Obama's National Phone Team. It's not easy work; it takes persistence and an ability to never take things personally. The truth is, despite Jessie's wish to the contrary, I find that every day I'm able to campaign is a very nice day indeed.
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the McCain Campaign that we need to reform our education system....
too many americans can't think critically...
the moment John McCain picked Palin the Republican party should have abandoned his ticket...
instead they reward him with their support....his logical conclusion is..."I can continue to make silly decisions and the party faithfuls will reward me...vintage PAVLOV.
Reading your post, I was reminded of my grandma visiting us during the 1964 election (I think it was that year, and it was Goldwater against Johnson). My Paternal Grandmother told my parents that she would vote for Goldwater. My dad asked her why she would do that. She said that she was told (or heard) that anyone who wouldn't vote for Goldwater would need to get their head examined. Same ol scare tactics. Without substance, it gets pretty ridiculous.
When I was 19, I did my volunteer stint as a Mormon missionary, and experienced many of the same things you have in going door-to-door. It was not incredibly rewarding, but I learned a lot about human nature, and how just as surprising I found the same old answers one after another, I could also be genuinely surprised at the incredible uniqueness of others.
I have to admit that it is a sad fact that Mormons as a whole seem to be the most strenuously Republican voting demographic there is. I wish there was some cure for that. (There was a horrible time when it was said, supposedly jokingly, that if you voted Democratic, you wouldn't be allowed in the temple! I've been doing my darndest to put that one to rest, but it will be a long time in going. Thank heavens Romney isn't on the ticket!)
In spite of that, I and all of my family intend to vote for Senator Obama-- early.
I can't wait to answer inquiries as to who I intend to vote for with, "Barack Obama, and I already have!"
Thanks for the uplifting story. I hope those of Mormon faith are thinking about their future and their childrens' future in this life as well as the next. It will be a better stay here on Earth with Barack Obama leading us out of this mess.
What a great thread. I am a Republican who fully intends to vote for Obama, and I always wondered why no one came to my door. Now I see that it is part of what volunteers are instructed. You'd probably be very surprised how many of us Repubs will be coming on board.
I suspect your neighborhood just hasn't been canvassed yet. There are lots of registered Republicans on my canvas lists.
Allow me to break the male-female pattern I mentioned in my first comment by relating a story about my elderly aunt, whose Catholic pastor recently gave a Sunday sermon warning that Obama is a Muslim and is not an American citizen. My aunt set him straight, but what of the other 200-300 parishioners who may have believed him (some of whom were possibly men!)?
Also, the manager who works 7 days a week without pay at the Obama (yes, Obama) headquarters where I volunteer is a wonderful woman named Cheryl.
Here's my first comment (it got lost while comments were temporarily down):
I notice 2 patterns in your post, James. First, all the troublemakers you mention are female: the lady in Plantation FL, the lady in Indiana, Diana in Pembroke Pines FL, and Jessie, also in Pembroke Pines. (Presumably the black dog in Blue Bell PA was a female also?!)
Then there are the good guys, who are all male: the man with the autistic granddaughter; Roy Winnick, your phone-bank chief; the man with the soldier son; and the clean-cut young man with the weedy driveway and shabby porch.
Are the sexes and personality traits of these people fact or poetic license --i.e., did you deliberately make the annoying ones women, or was that just a coincidence?
The second pattern is that when you say you "have not talked to a single person who has a favorable opinion of her" you could be talking about Hillary Clinton instead of Sarah Palin. Clinton was qualified, well-informed, and ready to lead; Palin is unqualified, poorly informed, and not ready (hardly surprising, since she wasn't seeking national office until McCain picked her out of a chorus line of GOP women politicians). Two totally different women, but they're both hated and feared because they're women.
See James Camner's Profile
Hi Lilliput,
I think the reason that I was speaking to so many women in my phone calls was that I am a daytime phone banker and mostly women are answering during those times. I certainly spoke to some rude men, but nothing they said was nearly as quotable as Diana and Jesse. Another reason could be that many of our calls lately have been going into Century Village in Pembroke Pines, a huge retirement complex, where there are a lot of older women who have survived their spouses. But yesterday I did indeed have a nasty conversation with a man who wanted to talk about Obama and the "terrorists" and who kept saying "he needs to answer man, why doesn't he answer." When I tried to point out that Obama had addressed the issue in his debate with Hillary, he didn't want to talk about that. I believe (and have written this on the Huffpost as a commenter) that he should have chosen the brilliant and tough Hillary as his VP - that she had earned the spot in fact. If that had been the case, we wouldn't have heard of Palin and Obama would probably be up by 20 points at least. I've spoken to many people who were Hillary supporters and who are only moving slowly into Obama's camp. Now as for that dog, I'm afraid I was too afraid to check out his/her sex!
It's not just Palin, though. While traveling last week, I stopped for lunch in a truck stop in California. I overheard two truckers talking politics between their booths because that was what was on the TV. Yes, they seemed dumbstruck at the choice of Palin, who they both felt was not just a stupid but a dangerous (literally and for the country, not politically) choice. But also they were worried about health care. Both were on the north side of middle age, and one had just lost his life savings to an illness not completely covered by his insurance. He felt he would get no relief from the Republicans. The other agreed. These were not yellow dog Democrats, they were the typical blue-collar "values" type voters the Republicans count on, and they were tired of getting screwed. They want a change before they have nothing left.
Actually, she's the smoking gun, not the bullet
I am also a volunteer doing phone banking for the Obama campaign in a suburb of Detroit. I am so impressed with the devotion, dedication and professionalism of the volunteers at our headquarters. We have a very diverse group, consisting of a wide variety of people of different ages, races and ethnic groups with one goal in mind, getting Obama elected. So far, most of the responses I have received on the phones have been positive, with the exception of a few hanups and those that claim they would never vote for a Democrat.
But I really noticed the negative Palin affect when I stopped for a drink in a neighborhood
bar/restaurant. While sitting at the bar and trying to hear the news about the Wall Street bailout, the conversation naturally turned to the election. Listening to the group of mostly men voicing their opinions, they all expressed disdain and disgust for Palin and total fear of her being anywhere near the oval office. I do not think their comments had anything to do with sexism or misogyny. They just felt that the woman was incompetent and totally out of her league.
I delivered an Obama/Biden yard sign to a very nice older couple today. They live on a corner lot, nice spot for the sign. :) The gentleman I spoke with said that they had voted Republican for years...but he couldn't figure out why McCain had selected Palin as his running mate, that it just didn't make any sense. I agreed and told him that we were delighted to have them join us. His wife added that they did not care for the personal attacks. McCain just keeps making the best decisions!
mr camner thanks you very munch i am a black man 54 years old and people like you that keeps me loving this country and keeping this hope alive that we will be the country that people like you and me want and god bless you and also makes me look at other races as people not some enemy so god bless you again and your family
I just got my mother, who is 88, to register to vote in Pennsylvania.(I live in Massachusetts) She has voted in many elections but always as a Republican. This will be the first time in her life that she will vote as a Democrat for Obama! She is almost blind and was afraid to go to the polls but really wants Obama to win. Luckily she can vote by absentee ballot. How many other elderly people are out there like her?
Oh, oh! I'm not one of the dummies, but it's been a long day, and I should know to be more thorough at such times to check my wording, especially after I change a couple words.
My answer to voters who repeat the lies they've been told about Obama is, ask if their source is FOX News' Limbauch, Hannity or O'Rielly and then ask if they know that Republicans are targeting voters who they say are dumb for believing them.
These are the only news sources of those voters, but they voters need to know the Republicans describe them as dummies. Not many people want anyone to think they're that dumb.
I'm sorry but I watch both Fox News and Katie Couric. I get the Democratic version of the news when I listen to Katie and the truth when I watch Fox. I'm offended at the pusumption that because I watch Fox News and listen to Hannity or O'Rielly that I am dumb. I am a well informed voter that is seeking the truth. I just don't get it on channel 3.
No, you are not an informed voter. You aren't even an informed consumer of information.
Get it through your blinders: Fox is OPINION, not NEWS. NEWS consists of FACTS, not OPINION.
LEARN the difference between FACT and OPINION -- they are NOT the same thing -- or continue to falsely believe you are other than dumb.
Fox is not truth and you sound like an intelligent person who should know better . Fox is opinion - thier opinion and defintely not news. They are not giving you the truth. If you watched the Obama/Ayer/Wright segment on Fox last night you would have realised that Fox is not the truth nor are they news. Everything they said during this segment is not true and has been debunked too many times and we are now tired of them constantly spreading these lies. If you need more proof go to www.factcheck.org or www.snopes.com or www.politifact.com. These are sites that fact check what the candidates say and what is said about them and tell you what is true and what is not.
If you were really interested in truth, you would do your own independent research. Go to Obama's website and then try some of the nonpartisan factchecker sites.
Fox News is actually listed as a news ENTERTAINMENT network - they peddle opinion, not facts.
Wow...what a great resonse. My first laugh for the day...thank you. John Stuart Mill said it best.
"Not all Republicans are stupid people, but most stupid people are Republicans".
Cartoonist needed! Picture Palin throwing stones at Obama.
She's in a glass House labeled "Troopergate"
No caption needed.
you know, I hadn't thought playing the Palin card myself BUT a great many of the people I called in New Mexico brought it up themselves -- same results -- not ONE person had a positive word to say
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