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 grass roots Obama campaigning is magnificent. I've never seen anything like it. I've been phoned, I've had people leave literature aat the door. Never heard a peep out of a McCain volunteer. People like being asked for their vote. Good for Obama and good for these workers he has inspired. If people cared more, we'd have less trouble coming our way from DC.
I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble regarding Sarah Palin, but the folks that frequent "Mad Dog's in the Hammock" in Palm Coast FL LOVE - and that's an absolute love- Sarah Palin. I was having dinner at the bar there after she was announced as the VP pick, and everyone at the bar was saying what a slam dunk she was, how great she is for the ticket, how many votes she's going to bring...I haven't been back there since.
It would be great to hear how they're feeling about her now. If you go back, let us know.
The Obama Campaign has more grassroots workers than any national campaign ever! Its hard work too.
Thanks for writing, James. So nice to read this, especially your observation of the Palin turn-off. My friends and I will be out in Allegheny County the weekend before the election, canvassing for Barack and hopefully avoiding large black dogs.
My 15 year old daughter (Eva, of course!) canvassed an economically depressed neighborhood on Saturday, and had a pretty nice day.
Many houses were vacant, unfortunately, and many of our target voters had moved away, but we did meet quite a few enthusiastic Obama supporters, and a few crabs. I hate to sound so negative about the opposition, buy my own sweet daughter brought up the point. The McCain people are downright nasty.
Perhaps it's a matter of being down in the polls, but I can't understand why rudeness would make hopelessness any easier to swallow.
At any rate, the day was great, we had a terrific walk, and we helped the cause.
I strongly recommend that everyone call their local Obama office and get in on the movement.
I enjoyed the piece, and I have been canvassing in southwest Virginia two counties over from the one where the guy wrote the piece on Obama having Ludacris painting the white house black. http://www
I have had several people express concerns about Senator Obama being a Muslim, which I assure them he is not, and then yesterday, after confirming his Christian status, the voter said, "I don't trust him he is going to let the black people take over." It was hard not to say, "come on, with the economic disadvantages that Afican-American people face, it is impossible for them to "take over." Instead of rebutting his statement, I asked a simple, but powerful question, "How has your family done during the past 8 years." He stated that he hated the Bush administration, how he has squandered so much money on the war, and how he does not care about the poor, working or middle class. I asked him if he feels that Senator McCain will do anything different, which he stated emphatically "no." After this he asked me to put him down for voting for Senator Obama and Senator Biden, because he hates all the rich Republicans now. This discussion probably last 10 minutes, but if he does vote the way he said it will be worth the time I spent.
I tell you, you guys are wonderful and incredibly patient! If anyone has the audacity to say that race has nothing to do with this is so-o-o in denial! The VICIOUS remarks I encounter my God! I'm ashamed! Yet, I have to know that since O'Bama is up in the polls that there is hope. There's an awful lot of people that are not clouded by race, and for that I say i am VERY PROUD of them! I do have to say that I am haunted by reactions from the Dinkins campaign back then. I had a co-worker who campaigned, and did a lot for his campaign but did have the courage to tell me on the following day that upon entering the booth on election day, she was overcome by a parallizing fear and did wind up NOT voting for him! She could not bring herself to pull the lever out of fear that what she was about to do was actually just hitting home: That she was voting for a black man, and that he would be the first black mayor of New York. She did not vote for him and was very ashamed of herself. She counted herself as very much a non-prejudiced or non-racist; and had to take a good look at herself which she had to admit was very painful.
Those convictions their parents indoctrinated come back to haunt them. They just can't do it because of those dinner table talks.
Recognizing indoctrination helps us understand racism, but I'm sure it goes without saying that it doesn't excuse it. I consider myself a case in point. Both my parents are/were products of the Bible Belt, and I was raised in a racist household. My grandfather was the kind who would hire a "colored man" to help with his cattle business, but would never in a million years invite him into the house (not even through the back door). If a black person and a white person appeared together on the TV, he would get up quietly and leave the room.
I decided long ago to reject that way of life, and I spent much of my young adulthood wrestling with ways to overcome my own upbringing. By 1988 I found it possible to be a delegate for Jesse Jackson at our state convention, and here I am today, canvassing proudly for Barack Obama. Am I 100% "cured"? I rather doubt it, but the fact is, it CAN be done! I reflect on Barack's "Perfect Union" speech in Philly, and I think "yes sir, all white Americans need to think about this and do some soul searching.
You guys have more patience than I do. I've taught cultural diversity and there comes a point and time where I refuse to waste my energy and breath on another person who was indoctrinated with hate by their parents. That is a lost cause and time to move on to the next person.
However, I'm sure many of you white canvassers have really learned a lot about race relations and how people are wrongly treated due to skin color. I'm not a straight party ticket girl, I go for who will put this country first and when someone tells me something I want facts. Too many times, the people some of you speak about will believe any and all they here, including gossip in their small towns.
If any of you canvassers are in college, your experience will make a great term paper. Thank you for your time and patience.
I thank ALL of those who put themselves out there for Obama. I've thought about canvassing and phone banking but I just can't put myself through that. (I CAN do data entry, though. Fast typist. :) I can just imagine the reception my black face would get at the door of some Republicans. Hell, I'd get the same reception if I were selling Girl Scout cookies. :(
I would especially like to thank all of my caucasian brothers and sisters that are out canvassing and phone banking. One of my earlier concerns about Obama's campaign was that there would not be enough canvassers because the non-caucasian canvassers would be harrassed or worse in many areas across the country. I must admit that the thought has relegated me to getting the message out via email and blogging mostly. After reading some pretty ugly statements against people of color via the internet, I just could not subject myself to it in person. About a month ago, I even had to step back from the electronic canvassing. I was beginning to get very depressed, not because of the Obama candidacy but because in all of my 46 years I had never really believed that someone could actually hate me because of the color of my skin. Sadly, I am not that naive anymore.
Thanks for sharing this, DD. I have encountered a couple of people here and there who seemed to resent me knocking on their door because they don't like the idea of a white guy being an Obama supporter - but they are by far only a tiny minority of the folks I've met. I am so very encouraged by the depth and breadth of the support for Barack that I've seen, even here in the very white suburbs of Denver, in Arapahoe County.
I think most people recognize what's at stake in this election, even if the past eight years have not affected them all that much, and they also recognize what a great opportunity we have in front of us - to elect someone with the intelligence, thoughtfulness, insight and vision of Barack Obama. I believe that as we wind our way through October, more and more people will wake up to what we already know, and act accordingly.
I was a Hillary supporter ("my girl Hillary"), not because she is white, but because she is an intelligent, capable woman who I believed would be the best candidate, especially against McCain, and a good president. It just didn't work out for Hillary. Of course I was sad about that, but I never even considered supporting or voting for McCain. Why would I - just because he is one of the whitest men in America? If people don't have a better reason than skin color as to why they can't vote for Obama, they should have the decency not to vote for anyone at all. It would be more honest than voting for someone they do not believe in simply because of the color of his skin. As a person who appears to be white/caucasian (I've never taken a DNA test), I am getting depressed, as well. I sympathize with you, DedicatedDiva, and hope that it all works out for the best. "All's well that ends well".
Canvassing is hard work, to be sure. It can be draining, but the rewards are immense. Once you figure out how to greet people and deliver Barack's message in your own words, you get into a groove, and you start to look forward to knocking on more doors, no matter what kind of response lies in wait behind them.
It's all about the ground game, folks - time to join in!
Thanks for your hard work. I live in California, so there's not much need to canvass ...I do get an occasional fund raising call and I try to be as helpful and encouraging as possible to the volunteers. I'm in no danger of maxing out my political contributions (cant afford that!), but I try to give a little each time.
Best of luck to you, and to us all!
Obama Biden '08!
You can download call sheets to other swing states directly from Barackobam
I wish I had the patience to do what you guys are doing. My problem is that I have no tolerance for fear and hate-mongering and this is what the McCain campaign has been focused on, either by inference or overtly. I would be arrested pretty quickly if I went house-to-house in my area and was confronted by some of the racists that live here--NEPA! We have a significant elderly population in this area; many of them still refer to African-Americans as "colored" and some even use the N-word. Actually, several of the younger, relatively well-educated people I know still use both terms. I cringe!!
Good luck. You don't need to visit me...firml
Republicans have always orchestrated their campaigns this way. They even eat their own to win. Look at what Bush did, in mean spiritness, against McCain in 2000. The story about McCain's adopted daughter from India being an "illegitmate black child" came from Bush's camp. McCain was livid with him.
Sorry for your social predicament, Joyce. You can help though.
Donate. Anything.
Hi Joyce. I, too, live in PA-- Northumberland County. I may have some encouraging remarks for you.
Last week I was at my insurance agent's office. There was an older gent there having a belly laugh at Sarah Palin's expense. After he left, the secretary told me that the gentleman had just recently turned 90 and was a very vocal and tenacious Obama advocate. Hurray for him, and us!
Additionally, my parents, ages 76 and 81, both life-long Repubs (though I don't think either has ever voted a straight party ticket) are supporting Obama. My mom is relentless when my dad feigns reluctance toward Obama or support for McCain. Mom tells Dad that he just likes McCain because he's just as cranky as Dad is. Though he may be coy and never admit to it--my dad is one more Republican voting for Obama!
Count me among the legions. My main "job" is data entry so I also see the voter registration results as well as the door to door results. I sort of disagree about not going to republican's doors because I believe a number of them are not happy with McCain, but I just follow the script!
Omaba is signing up new democratic voters left and right. Having also made the phone calls I can say most who answered the phones were in favor of Obama. Not many people I spoke to seem to trust McCain and in particular, Palin.
I will never say it is "in the bag", but I will say it is looking pretty good because people are more and more
Thanks James...an
Thank you so much to Obama canvassers all across the country. You rock!
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