Energy – all he says is “drill here, drill now.” Exxon Mobil has drilled straight into John McCain’s head.
Education – John McCain needs to be educated. He has no ideas for education.
Just sharing a bit of my experience with you! I just got back from North Carolina. We travelled there on Friday night from Northern Virginia and canvassed Saturday and Sunday. When I rolled into my garage it was 1:47 a.m. on Monday morning.
We worked with the Raleigh office on 130 East Morgan St. This place was on fire for the weekend. Many of us came from out of state and the office reported that we knocked on 17,000 doors on Saturday alone! Way past their expectations.
I had a couple of highligts. On Sunday, we canvasseda senior citizen apartment building. As you know, GOTV is targeted, but my canvassing partner Jeff and I spoke to eveyone we met, whether or not they were on the list. So, as we waited for the elevator, we met an elderly lady who is a registered Democrat, loves Barack, but was not planning to vote! Can you imagine? After some prodding, it turned out that she had become cynical and tired about the politics and was fearful of what "they" will do to Barack - "lift him up and tear him down." We explained how much we believe he could make a change with our help, gave her some literature on Barack's Christian roots, told her about polling location and times, and asked her to reconsider voting. She said she would and mentioned we were the first persons who had spoke with her. Now, remember this lady loves Barack, but was nursing some real cynicism.
We continued on our way to reach the voters on our list - all of whom were enthusisastic supporters who were planning to vote. On our way back to the elevators to leave the building, we met our friend again. Get this, she made a point to tell us she was impressed that we had come from out of town, spoken with her. In the time since we left her - about 10 minutes - she had read the literature and RESOLVED to vote for Barack on Tuesday!! She said "I have decided to make it my business to go up there on Tuesday and vote for him." I couldn't help it. I gave her a big bear hug. Jeff and I had tears in our eyes. It was awesome. We left her smiling and thanking us profusely for the work we were doing. That encounter alone made my trip worthwhile.
Also on Sunday, we met a very passive lady whom we woke from her sleep. So apologies were flying fast. Anyway, she was extremely pleasant to us. Initially she was not open to speaking and her answer to every question was "I don't know". But after some gentle prodding about what was most important to her, she revealed that she was concerned about the high cost of living, and that she has a brother serving in Iraq to whom she has not spoken with for over a year. Her apparent indifference was masking her pain around that issue. Well Jeff and I talked about Barack's position on the war and his commitment to bring the troops home. She opened up a little and told us about her church activities, and we invited her to read through the literature. I think she was pleased that we had stopped by and I think we made a real connection.
The last story involved a young woman who was undecided and concerned about healthcare. She was impressed when we told her that Barack does not take money from lobbyists etc. so he would be more accountable to the people and be in a better position get reform on health care. And also impressed that we had stopped by - she said nobody from the other campaign had taken the time.
Even while we were packing our bags in our trunk on Sunday evening, we were still canvassing. We met a couple walking their dog in the neighborhood. Turns out, the husband was an Obama supporter, the wife liked Bill but was getting turned off from him. Within 10 minutes we had her wearing an Obama button and committing to vote for him on Tuesday. Another one on the O-train!!
The energy is great there. There are still a few undecideds but every encounter is a chance to get our message out. As you engage to people today and in the weeks ahead, continue to speak from the heart. People really respond to that! And yes, evey encounter is important! We can do this! Yes, we can!
