Sen. Barack Obama drew headlines for his record-breaking 100,000-person weekend rally in Missouri, but big, exciting rallies don't win elections by themselves, of course.
A strong organization is required to turn a candidate's supporters into votes -- to identify them, remind them to vote, provide information on rules and polling places and to recruit the strongest supporters for volunteering and outreach. So when that huge rally in Missouri wound down, it was no surprise that Obama headed over to a Kansas City field office to buck up his local organizers. Then he joined them for some personal "call time."
The footage from Obama's appearance, which the campaign just uploaded to YouTube, has some nice warm moments. It also shows how the campaign relentlessly heralds its organizers and volunteers. That can mean sharing the spotlight with them during a big candidate trip or touting their work on YouTube. This video was also flagged on MyBarackObama.com. It shows volunteers around the country, even in neglected safe states, that their work is vital to the campaign and the candidate.
I think this image from the video captures that feeling -- the focus is on the organizer, explaining her work, while Obama passes by in the background, talking to a voter on a phone call arranged by another volunteer:
Because it's not about him, as they say, it's about you: