Obama's campaign demonstrates he is extremely prepared to lead from Day One. At an phoneathon on October 6th attended by 21 volunteers, I witnessed this on three levels. Due to his effective leadership, Obama does not have any problem winning over white voters. Because of successful campaign management, most Hilary supporters have been fully and warmly welcomed into the fold. Largely owing to valuable guidance from the campaign, even people who are brand new to political organizing can plan and execute successful events.
Barack Obama consistently wins over white voters despite his fabled white blue collar worker problem. Every single attendee of the Call for Change Party, except for one, was white. Of those 20 white volunteers, 3 are low income because currently they either have low or no income. Two would be considered upper middle class - a couple where both are employed full time in relatively high paying jobs. The remaining 15 are average middle class whites. Each attendee, regardless of race and socioeconomic status, is a committed supporter. Each one talks regularly to family, friends and neighbors about the campaign. Each one has donated to the campaign. All gave up 4 hours on a beautiful, autumn afternoon to cold-call voters in battleground states in support of a man that the naysayers say they shouldn't be supporting.
Massachusetts is a funny state - producing both Deval Patrick and Mitt Romney. Sometimes the viewpoints that come out of the state can be quite conservative; however, the state in recent decades is often Democrat-lead. Some people at the Call for Change party jokingly called Massachusetts, 'Old Blue'. In the primaries, 'Old Blue' came out largely for Hilary Clinton - despite high-level Democrat endorsements for Obama. First term Governor Deval Patrick endorsed Obama early and consistently. In Beverly especially, the long-standing Democrats were Hilary supporters who seemed slow to let go of their preferred candidate. As recently as September, I attended a fundraising picnic for the Beverly Democratic Committee. While congressman Tierney and State Representative Grant spoke of the urgency of doing everything we can to elect Obama - there was a gigantic Hilary sign in a prominent position in the yard.
Three months after her campaign was over, their preference was still something they needed to express. However, the sincerity of their committment to the Obama campaign cannot be doubted. The evolution of growing support for Obama in Beverly, MA is a microcosm of what has happened throughout the country. There was nothing to indicate that Obama could take those votes for granted. And it is not just Hilary supporters who have been won over by Obama's hard working campaign. There are many Republican and Independent supporters of Obama as well. At the Call for Change party, there was even a Libertarian in attendance - in fact, it was his warm and beautiful house at which the event was held.
I organized this 4 hour Call for Change phonebank by posting the event details on two websites. Except for the hosts ( the Libertarian and his wife) I didn't know any of the people who came. I am the town coordinator for the Obama Campaign in Beverly, MA. This is the first political campaign in which I've ever taken an active role. Since April, I've organized around 15 events in support of the candidacy of Barack Obama. The campaign provides invaluable guidance in running a successful event - no matter the type. Also, with the help of tools from MoveOn, I was able to hit the ground running. The objective of the phonebank was to reach voters in key battleground states. Having never done this before, and knowing that many of my volunteers had not done phonecalls before, I expected to hold training and discussion for at least 30-45 minutes. Then I hoped we would each make 20 phone calls.
With a fabulous host guide from the Obama campaign and a great webinar provided from MoveOn, we were up and running in less than 15 minutes. This event was successful because we made over 1000 phone calls for Obama. Additionally, the event was successful because prior to the event, none of the attendees knew each other. By volunteering, people got to meet other community members and see how much they had in common with people with whom they would not normally interact. This is one of the major benefits of the Obama campaign. Just as he reaches across the aisle to get things done, we are reaching across all those categorizations that tend to seaparate us to bring bring change to Washington. The people attending yesterday's Call for Change came for many reasons but the overarching theme was that this was something they could do to make a tangible difference. Having the preparation and training made it that much more of a rewarding experience.
The key takeawys from this event were: 1) the creation of a solid slate of reliable volunteers, 2) new friendships initiated and 3) the calls made had an immediate impact for the campaign. The calls made to the first battleground state were from a list of people previously active through Moveon.org. The implications of these calls were we let people know there is a local office near their home and when the next meetings were. The direct impact is many more people to do the work of the campaign. The calls made to the other battleground state were simply to identify potential Obama supporters and from those, any potential volunteers. We did not have any information on their prior political activity or leanings. The results of all the calls are 1) more supporters of Obama 2) more accurate databases 3) and more volunteers for the campaign.
Because our volunteers were from every walk of life, they could relate to the people we called. Volunteers had fulfilling and satisfying conversations; both the caller and callee came away feeling they gained something. In between making my own calls, I walked around the roomy farm house and checked on people's conversations. I caught an earful of a conversation about Social Security. Marge explained her position like this, "I receive Social Security Retirement. I have examined both candidates' positions and records with keen interest. Obama makes sense. With McCain I have the sense that we elderly are invisible. I am not invisible. I am valuable." She was able to detail to that undecided voter why a McCain administration would not be good for senior citizens and why an Obama administration would be. Marge imbued the calling party with more energy than people half her age. She led the charge by making over 60 phone calls for Obama in battleground states. She stated on another call, "I'm committed to Obama because he is committed to me."
I also overheard a health care conversation. The voter said she had doubts about Obama's health care plan because she heard it was socialist. Jessica was able to engage this voter and dispel the misinformation propogated in this election cycle. She allayed the voter's fears by putting Obama's health care proposals in proper context. She told the voter that virtually every democratic western nation has universal health care except for us saying, "The costs to the taxpayers of having universal health care pale in comparison to the significant costs of not having universal health care. Some costs you can put into numbers, such as reduced emergency room visits and earlier detection of diseases. Cost cutting measures sound good until you ask yourself if those eliminated costs caused a preventable death. Can you put a monetary figure on the lost life of a loved one from a disease that could have been caught and cured if only the person had regular health care?" Jessica ended the call with a smile on her face. Not only did the voter say she would support Obama, she signed up to volunteer.
Because Jessica and other volunteers stepped up tothe plate, we were able to sway undecideds and galvanize more volunteers in those four short hours. I will definitely organize another phone bank. This campaign is about us stepping up with Obama leading the charge. the key take-way from the event is that the personal connections made speak volumes about how well-run the Obama campaign is internally and externally. Internally, there is an established structure and you always have someone to go to with questions. Externally, it speaks to how Obama is able to unite people despite whatever differences they have to work toward the common good. We were enabled, prepared and valued. Obama is ready to lead nationally because he has run a campaign that enables us to lead and work together locally.
The campaign is about each of us across America. This is about us being able to stand up and make a difference in our communities. As Obama empowers us, we improve our communities - and not just on election day. As we improve our communities, we empower America.