Our convention watch party at Centennial Hall went great - it was really great to watch Barack's speech in a crowd. I spotted our Alaska delegation at one point! Go to meet more other Sitka Obama supporters. It was really inspirational and covered so much ground - going from really making the case against the Bush/McCain years and philosophy (or lack) of government, to specifics of what Obama would do, to a soaring and uplifting ending that had me in tears. Yes we can!
Friday, of course, we woke to the shock of hearing McCain had chosen our governor Sarah Palin as VP. What??????????????????? Alaskans are flabbergasted.
Saturday we went out canvassing and not many mentioned Sarah Palin as a decisive choice - many mentioned they liked her but it wasn't going to change their position - they had too many reasons to support Obama. She is not viewed as a "weighty" choice here!
Monday we are going canvassing again (meet 10:30 - 11:30 at the Obama office 408 Oja Way - I'm bringing muffins!). Canvass from about 12-3 then we'll have an open house at the office 6-7 pm.
My latest idea - we need an Obama group entry in "The Running of the Boots"! It's late Sept this year.
It's at 408 Oja Way - the brick building across from the police station. The grand opening will be next week, but here's some of our "core group" getting started. (It was raining - neither rain nor snow nor dark of night shall keep us from organizing!)
Out youngest (and probably most dedicated) volunteer, Ben
Out canvassing today and got some good feedback about the choice of Biden as VP. The highest praise was "he speaks his mind", which is admired in Alaska. I was happy with the choice and Biden's speech at Springfield today has me even more excited.
Here's an article from the Alaska Blog Mudflats (Tiptoeing Through the Muck of Alaskan Politics)
Obama Picks Joe Biden, The Gloves are Off!
There is nobody who has more foreign policy experience and savvy than Joe Biden. No matter who the McCain camp selects, they won’t be able to hold a candle to Biden in the debate on foreign policy issues.He’s been around a long time. He pointed out in his speech that there are only four senators with more seniority than him (soon to be three after Stevens’ inevitable defeat), but that there are 44 who are older than him. Good chuckle line, and he makes the point. McCain is older and less experienced.The man takes the train to work in D.C. from Delaware every day. He’s from a working-class Catholic family from Scranton, PA. In the current climate of ‘House-Gate’, it can do nothing but help. No one’s going to call the Amtrak guy an elitist, especially after John McCain just got nabbed taking a nine car motorcade to Starbucks for a cappucchino. (low foam half-caff with a sprinkle of cinnamon perhaps?) In his speech today in Illinois, Biden invoked that iconic vision of sitting at the kitchen table worrying about finances. Then said McCain would have to decide which of his seven kitchen tables to sit at…Youch! Democrats aren’t used to fightin’ talk, and from the sound of the crowd, they liked it.Biden’s other classic line from the speech today: “These times require more than a good soldier, they require a wise leader.” Oof. Body blow. He recognized and commended McCain’s service to his country, and deftly shifted gears with the above line. He hit the ground running on day one with a scathing attack on the effects of Republican rule in Washington, and referred freuqently to the “Bush-McCain policies” of the last eight years. The more often people hear Bush-McCain in the same breath, the better for Democrats. For all those who wish just for once, Obama would just get mad and lose his cool in a fit of moral outrage, this is as close as you’re going to get. The team is officially composed of one cool cucumber and a scrappy attack dog. The election just got a whole lot more interesting."
For all those who wish just for once, Obama would just get mad and lose his cool in a fit of moral outrage, this is as close as you’re going to get. The team is officially composed of one cool cucumber and a scrappy attack dog. The election just got a whole lot more interesting."
My sentiments exactly!
Despite what appears on many maps, Alaska is NOT an island southwest of California. This might give you an idea of how big Alaska is:
Sitka is in the Southeast. The Southeast (the "panhandle" part adjacent to British Columbia) is basically a submerged mountain range - we live on the slopes of mountains which plunge into the sea. The roads in Sitka end within 8 miles of town - to get out of town you have to fly or take the ferry (4.5 hours to Juneau on the "fast" ferry).
Liz, our Obama field officer, just got into town, and we had our first official meeting as part of the statewide canvass. First we met at the Backdoor Cafe, then split into pairs and small groups and went out canvassing. There were a total of about 15 groups. I went with two others and we met some Obama supporters, many undecided voters, a few McCain supporters, a few strong Libertarians, and one former Republican who has never voted Democrat before but now will (yeah!). Also got a bit damp because of the rain - but if you waited for sunny days to campaign in Sitka, you would not get much done.
Here are some pics from the Backdoor Cafe:
L iz (Obama FO) and Jonathan. Liz does not really have evil red eyes, but I thought they went well with the walls. Jonathan campaigned for Dean 4 years ago (when he was 14) and is a mover and shaker in local politics!
My new friend J.R., fired up and ready to go, just before we set off to canvass together. Liz (a different one) also joined us.
We'll be doing more in Sitka - if you are local and reading this blog there will be a big kick-off meeting Thursday the 21st at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall - details will be in the paper. Liz (the Obama FO) will be setting up her office in the Troutte building and welcomes donations of office supplies and for people to stop by. (I think its 208 in the Troutte building). Liz is "Liz FO in Sitka" on myBO.
PS - did you know canvass means to go around soliciting opinions in a political survey but canvas is a fabric? No? I did not either (til now).
Just to test things out - my first post will be Sitka through the years
1892 - this is a print that I bought on ebay
This postcard seems to be from the 1950's - the streets are now paved!
The most recent photo I have - another postcard. It looks really similar except if you look closely the clockface on the Russian church is now white - it burned down in the '60s and they rebuilt it, but changed the color of the clockface so you could tell from photos whether it was the original or the new one.
It's amazing how much has stayed the same through the years. The last view is pretty much the same today (except the buildings are painted different colors.
Next post will be about Obama!
