I helped canvas in PA this Saturday, the last weekend of canvassing. It was quite the adventure. Five of us packed up in compact car to drive out to our turf. By this time it was raining pretty heavily. I set off with two others; not having brought an umbrella or raincoat splitting up was somewhat impractical. We trooped through the rain, flipping through our soggy list. Despite the terrible weather, the experience was still pretty rewarding. Almost all of our contacts were really receptive and positive and pro-Obama. Most volunteered this right off the bat, which made our job easy and brightened the day up a bit. Many people had already been canvassed several times, and we suspect that was due to labor union activity, which for some reason is not coordinated with the main campaign. I didn't see a lot of McCain campaign activity, although at one house I did encounter McCain campaign materials stuffed in a mailbox/slot, which we have been told is illegal (owned by the federal government). That annoyed me somewhat, they should get their act together.
All in all, despite (because of?) the weather, and being dead of exhaustion (this election is wearing on me; I've become addicted to politico.com and CNN) it was a very positive experience; you get to meet some great people, both fellow canvassers and fellow citizens out there. I plan to attend final GOTV events next weekend (and maybe Monday or Tuesday), and then it will finally be over and we'll hopefully see that our hard work has paid off.
Next time however I'll come with a better canvassing/GOTV kit:
* raincoat
* flashlight
* umbrella
* backback or messenger bag of some sort
* pre-determined walk route
* pre-grouped campaign material packets
