A message from Utah State Director Suzanne Gelderman:
Rachel and Rob are traveling across the country creating a photographic essay of grassroots Obama supporters called "We Are The Ones Project". They came to Utah Obama for America headquarters on September 1, 2008.
In their words: "Specifically, we're highlighting average citizens and grassroots communities as the real stars of this campaign, by giving them a celebrity-style photo shoot at Obama events. Selected portraits will be exhibited in a New York gallery show in November and eventually published in book form along with collected stories gathered at house meetings, rallies, and fund raising events throughout America."
Check out the photographs of Janet Lee and her dog with the giant Obama puppet she created; Bob and Malinda Bills, a couple that comes for Data Entry Night every Monday; Maggie Flanigan, a high school intern who is at our headquarters every day after school and on weekends, and her friend who came to volunteer for the first time ever that night.
Slideshow below:
You can find more photos on their blog at www.wearetheonesproject.com
This past Thursday, Obama supporters gathered at Canyon Rim Park in Salt Lake City to watch Barack's acceptance speech under an open sky. ABC 4 News reported on the event:
On August 5, 2007, Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at Park City’s Olympic Park. He admitted that he was a bit overwhelmed by the number of supporters who came out to hear him speak that day. As 75-thousand people cheered on Obama in Denver, hundreds did the same in this east bench neighborhood.
Check out the slideshow below to see what you may have missed:
This past Saturday, the Obama campaign demonstrated its commitment to running a 50 state campaign and competing in every part of the country by holding an open house at its Salt Lake City headquarters that drew more than 700 people. The office opening not only fired up Obama-Biden supporters across the state, it also earned a lot of attention from the local media.
Matt Roth with Fox 13 Utah reported:
As far as our research can tell, it is something unprecedented in Utah politics. None of Utah's political veterans can remember a Democratic Presidential Campaign funding a fully-staffed Utah office leading up to the general election.
KSL/NBC observed:
Obama opened a campaign office here in Utah today. The opening of the office is part of his 50-state strategy -- an office in every state in the nation, even the Republican ones. "A long-time running, there's been problems with the Democratic Party in Utah. Anything we can do to break down those barriers is amazing," Kingery said.Mathis says opening a campaign office in Utah is amazing. He said, "You're in a very Republican state, and you've got a line of people stretched down the sidewalk. People are really excited, enthusiastic, really wanting change."
Check out the slideshow below for a glimpse of what you might have missed!
Our Austin office is filled with volunteers, calling Texans to remind them of the “Texas Two-Step” voting process in which Texans can cast primary ballots from 7am to 7pm on Tuesday, March 4th and then caucus at a convenient location starting at 7pm. Making sure Obama supporters from all corners of the Lone Star State do the Two-Step is a key to a victory here on Tuesday.
Texans like Karen know the stakes, and have been putting in long hours to ensure that voters know about the Two-Step.
“This is one of those times when it is so important to do something positive to improve our country,” said Karen, a postal clerk from Austin.
Karen’s daughter Amber serves as a mechanic in the U.S. Army and recently returned to the states after spending over a year in Afghanistan.
“I couldn’t watch the news, I was too nervous,” she recalled of her daughter’s time overseas, “I decided to work for the campaign because I wanted to stop complaining about the leadership that sent us into Iraq and wanted to take a stand.”
Karen was among over a hundred volunteers working the phones today. You can join her and other Obama supporters at our Austin HQ or any one of our 25 offices located across the state. You can also call Texan voters from home.
Find the office closest to you.
Sign up to make calls from home.
if you’re ready to support Barack by doing the Texas Two-Step, click here for information on the caucus location nearest you.
Tireless volunteers, getting out the TX Two-Step.
Baked goods a plenty in the Austin HQ kitchen.
These days, Anchorage's town square is alive with ice skaters and science fiction fans drawn by the Gallery of Ice and its frozen renditions of Darth Vader, E.T., and other copyrighted likenesses from sci-fi films of yore. But over the course of these final five days before the February 5th Democratic Caucus, the center of energy in the Last Frontier will be a few miles away at our Alaska headquarters on 2602 Fairbanks Street.
The front door reminds us: in five days, Alaskans can play their part in our growing movement for change. Inside, you're likely to find a busy call room filled with volunteers working the phones to bring new caucus-goers into the process.
Over the past week, their hard work has paid off. In a state where the 2004 caucuses attracted only 600 attendees, organizational meetings across Alaska drew over 200 Barack supporters.
Anchorage
Fairbanks
I couldn't end this blog post without giving you a glimpse of the Gallery of Ice.
Don't phone home yet, phone potential caucus-goers!
Barack took the stage to thunderous applause from the crowd of thousands, congratulating Senator Clinton and reminding his fired up supporters that the fight for real change is only beginning.
"We know the battle ahead may be long. But always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change," he said, adding, “I am still fired up and ready to go.”
For all the door knockers and phone bankers, the early morning sign holders and those entering data at night, Barack offered additional thanks.
“Tonight belongs to you,” he said.
Our campaign for New Hampshire began nearly a year ago, and after building momentum and just coming up short of shocking the world once more, it is clear that YOU are the reason we have been able to prove the cynics and pundits wrong. Barack thanks you, and we here in New Hampshire thank you.
On to Nevada, let’s go change the world.
The doors have opened and voters are filling the gymnasium.
I spoke with Marilyn, a precinct captain from Stratham, as she was waiting. Marilyn has been housing 10 volunteers for these past few weeks in addition to doing her part for the campaign.
“I’m very excited. I haven’t felt this inspired about a candidate since Bobby Kennedy,” she said. “I’m also really excited about all the young people involved in the campaign.”
Check later for an update.
This is the calm before the storm before tonight's Primary Night Rally. Soon thousands of Granite Staters hungry for change will fill this gymnasium.
Polls across the state are beginning to close and anticipation is beginning to build here in Nashua, especially in the crowd forming outside of Nashua South High School.
Change is only hours away, and there are signs of momentum everywhere.
Here are a few of my favorites.
I’ve learned that one good place to go for signs is Mack’s Apples in Londonderry. I arrived to a bustling staging area filled with dozens of volunteers.
The polls close as soon as an hour in some places. Find a location near you.
I’ve been dropping by some of our staging areas in Concord to watch our unprecedented grassroots movement in action.
Volunteers are pounding the pavement to get Barack supporters to the polls, making phone calls between shifts to persuade late deciders to vote for change.
One of these volunteers, 18 year-old Ariel from New York, will be casting her first ever vote for Barack Obama in her state’s February 5th primary. She traveled to New Hampshire to volunteer for Barack because she understands New Hampshire’s defining role to play in choosing the next president.
“I think people are really open to his vision around here. They’re really receptive,” she said, “We definitely worked hard, but I think it’ll pay off.”
At my second stop in Concord, I spoke with Gerri, a social psychologist and organizational consultant. She said that Barack’s Iowa victory speech moved her to tears, adding, “There’s an extra layer of passion here that I have not witnessed since Kennedy.”
From one staging area to the next, I am witnessing the same thing: everyone is fired up and ready to go as voter turnout in the primary approaches record levels.
The polls are open, and Granite Staters are taking their duties as First-in-the-Nation voters as seriously as ever.
Meet Kim, an 18 year-old college student who will be voting for the first time today. She’s voting for Barack because of his ability to inspire people of all backgrounds to get involved in the political process.
Meanwhile, across town, volunteers are waving signs and cheering to show their enthusiasm for Barack message of change.
The energy of over a thousand people shaking off the influence of cynicism caused by decades of slash-and-burn politics seemed to explode into many rounds of thunderous applause at a late-night rally here in Concord.
Skeptics believed this day would never come, but the throngs of people who waited in line for hours are now showing the world that they believe in Barack and in themselves and are eager to enact his vision of a country healed and a world restored.
After years of talking about the importance of hope, Barack explained that his vision of hope is a vision of action.
He said:
Hope is not blind optimism. It is not ignoring the road blocks, the hazards, the hurdles that stand in the way of you and your dreams. Hope is just the opposite. I know how difficult it will be to bring about health reform in this country… I understand that we cannot expect to somehow fix our schools or reduce poverty just with the snap of a finger just because we hope for it… I have battled in the courts as a civil rights attorney. I have seen good legislation wither away because good intentions weren’t enough because they weren’t fortified with the political will or political power. I know how tough this will be.So do you. But what you and I also know is that… somebody, somewhere, decided to believe in something that was not obvious, that contradicted the conventional wisdom, that contradicted the status quo, that hadn’t been done before… That’s how slaves and abolitionists resisted an evil system. That’s how a new untested president was able to plot a course to make sure we would no longer be half-slave and half-free. That’s how the greatest generation defeated fascism and lifted itself up out of the Great Depression. That’s how workers had the courage to take on the violence... to form unions so that all of us could benefit from the minimum wage… That's how women got the right to vote... That’s how young people traveled down south to Selma and Montgomery and they sat in and knocked on doors and registered voters and got assaulted… that’s what hope is. That’s what hope is.
Hope is not blind optimism. It is not ignoring the road blocks, the hazards, the hurdles that stand in the way of you and your dreams. Hope is just the opposite. I know how difficult it will be to bring about health reform in this country… I understand that we cannot expect to somehow fix our schools or reduce poverty just with the snap of a finger just because we hope for it… I have battled in the courts as a civil rights attorney. I have seen good legislation wither away because good intentions weren’t enough because they weren’t fortified with the political will or political power. I know how tough this will be.
So do you.
But what you and I also know is that… somebody, somewhere, decided to believe in something that was not obvious, that contradicted the conventional wisdom, that contradicted the status quo, that hadn’t been done before…
That’s how slaves and abolitionists resisted an evil system. That’s how a new untested president was able to plot a course to make sure we would no longer be half-slave and half-free.
That’s how the greatest generation defeated fascism and lifted itself up out of the Great Depression.
That’s how workers had the courage to take on the violence... to form unions so that all of us could benefit from the minimum wage…
That's how women got the right to vote...
That’s what hope is.
The crowd interrupted Barack with chants of “O-ba-ma” on several occasions, proving itself ready to answer his call for a reengaged citizenry.
Minutes after the rally ended, the very first poll in Dixville-Notch opened in this First-in-the-Nation Primary State and Barack won with 7 votes.
In the months since Barack launched this improbable journey, tens of thousands of New Hampshire voters have listened to him share his vision for hope and change. Now, thousands more, inspired by the outpouring of enthusiasm of Barack’s reception these past few days, will go to the polls to transform their own hopes into a movement that will sweep across the rest of the 48 states and transforms the country.
In a few hours, New Hampshire votes its aspirations. It votes for change we can believe in.
I’ve moved on to one of our staging areas, set up at a supporter’s home here in Portsmouth. People were scurrying around the living room and kitchen, preparing to hit the streets to talk to voters about Barack.
Sarah Sewall, a senior foreign policy advisor to Barack, dropped by to provide suggestions to volunteers in anticipation of handling questions from voters.
“The world is changing quickly, but Barack has the right judgment to take on the unexpected. He’s made the right calls on the big issues like Iraq, Pakistan and Iran while his opponents were steeped in conventional thinking,” she said.
That advice resonated with one volunteer I spoke with. Carter spent large parts of her past 35 years living overseas before returning to New Hampshire to live in North Hampton. A career journalist, she has been volunteering for the campaign since Barack’s announcement because she believes that he will do the most to restore America’s standing in the world.
“I am not sleeping I’m so excited. It’s just so exciting,” she said. “Doing this door to door canvassing, when you see all these people who are so fired up--it’s incredibly inspiring.”
Before I left for the event in Rochester, I ran into David, a civil rights attorney in New York.
David worked with Barack on the Harvard Law Review, and the pair turned out to be the last two candidates standing in the race for president of the Law Review.
“Barack had this tremendous ability to speak to people across the ideological divide,” he recalled. “Many of the people that he worked with on the Law Review have gone on to be some of the leading legal minds in the conservative movement, but he found a way to get them to work together with the liberals.”
David added, “Barack is the same consensus-builder today that he was back then.”
Like so many of Barack’s supporters, David is working on a campaign for the first time. “I’ve done a few small things before, but this time, we have a once-in-a-lifetime candidate and I’m willing to do what it takes,” he said.
You can tell that voting will start in less than 12 hours from the crowds and the energy. The Opera House in Rochester is packed, with voters straining to get a view of Barack.
A packed balcony.
With Barack’s momentum building, the hunt is on for remaining undecided voters.
Looking for undecided voters
Check back later for an update.
I could feel the energy on the streets of Portsmouth this morning as I followed Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois on a canvassing route with Portsmouth resident Joan Jacobs. Many of the houses we approached would have been listed as “threes” (undecided) on our walk sheets just a few days ago, but we found recently-added Obama signs in their windows.
At each door, Senator Durbin shared his reasons for encouraging Barack to run. He said, “This is a unique moment in history, and people are calling out for someone who can unite the country. Barack is the only candidate who can.”
At a canvass kickoff this morning at the Portsmouth office, Sen. Durbin said:
Barack Obama represents a new generation of leadership, the same kind of inspirational vision of the possible that we last saw with John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy.
The volunteers I spoke with at the Portsmouth office couldn’t have agreed more.
Helen from Stratham is a breast cancer survivor who lost a family member in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Now, she is looking for a leader ready for the gravity of the times.
She believes Barack is that candidate, and echoed Senator Durbin’s view of the historic opportunity we have in this election:
It’s time to bring this country together, I don’t believe any of the other candidates will do that to the same effect that Senator Obama will. He reminds me of John F. Kennedy when I was a young teenager in high school… There’s a lot of substance to him, he’s a very intelligent man. I believe that he’s going to do a great job in the White House.
I also spoke with two Vietnam veterans, Don and Richard, who have flown in from Virginia to speak with fellow veterans at stops in Rochester, Dover, Portsmouth and Exeter. Both agreed with Helen about the significance of this election.
Richard, a former Rhodes Scholar and Air Force Colonel, said, “As I listened to Barack speak, it became clear to me that he has the stature and judgment to be president. He got it right on the Iraq war.”
Don, a retired Navy Commander with experience advising the Defense Department on foreign policy issues, added, “I have always been impressed by his grasp of details and his ability to think outside of the box and defy conventional thinking.”
With momentum building in the Granite State, voters are hearing from Barack’s “Closer”, Michelle, at house parties across the state.
Yesterday, one of these parties drew nearly 100 voters, many of them undecided, to Bow NH. Michelle urged the audience to vote their aspirations and imagine a country where people believe in their government again.
“We need inspiration right now. We need someone who can excite people enough to get involved in their government,” she said.
She added that Barack has demonstrated the ability to do just that, judging from the thousands of people across the country that he has inspired to enter the political process.
Like every other crowd he spoke with today, the 1,750 Keene area residents that packed this high school on a Sunday night greeted Barack with enthusiasm and excitement.
When I arrived at Keene High School tonight, I rushed into the first room that sounded like a noisy auditorium. But while I found the crowded room I had been expecting, but it turned out to be our overflow room.
This was the overflow room.
I scurried over to the right location, spilling my coffee in my rush, and found an even bigger crowd waiting for Barack to arrive.
The Main Event.
Check back later for video highlights!
I’m tucked away in the corner of the auditorium and Salem High School, in a room that is completely at capacity. As they awaited Barack’s arrival, chants of “O-ba-ma!” and “Fired up, Ready to Go!” broke out. When Barack took the stage, the crowd jumped to its feet and provided him a standing ovation. Check back later for a recap.
Another massive crowd turned out to see Barack speak in Manchester early this morning, and Barack continued to display the presidential demeanor that impressed so many at last night’s debate.
Watch this clip of his speech:
Fired up supporters and late-deciding voters alike filled the Palace Theater in Manchester to capacity.
Before the event, I spoke with Holly, a travel agent and Obama supporter from New London, who was holding a “Michelle Obama for First Lady” sign as she waited. She was able to get Barack to autograph her sign, and is hopeful that she’ll manage to get Michelle’s signature as well sometime before January 8th.
“I’ve been around the world through my job,” she said, “and it hurts me to see that our image has taken such a beating. Barack is our best hope for a return to respected leadership abroad.”
After Barack finished speaking, I caught up with Kate from Manchester. Kate had been wavering in her choice for president, but today she reports that Barack has left her “speechless.”
“His vision for hope and unity has completely won me over,” she said. “I see him and feel that he can lead the country to heal the wounds of the past few decades.”
Kate hastened to add, “A leader like this only comes around once in a generation, and I think we’ve found him.”
It’s a busy Sunday morning here in Manchester and throngs of Granite Staters line up outside of the Palace Theater to learn more about Barack’s vision for change. The line stretches around the block, onto Manchester’s Elm Street in the heart of downtown.
Check out these pics:
Inside, the Palace Theater is crowded as well:
Check back later for an update!
