Here's my story from Oregon yesterday:At 9 AM, forty Seattlites piled on the big red "Hale's Ales" double-decker bus and headed down I-5 to Portland. The bus was decked out with Obama signs, and "Honk for Hope" was written on the windows. We arrived around 1, after a bumpy ride, and were briefed by the Portland HQ. We split into four groups, and walked to our locations. I paired up with Majeed, an Iraqi-American and a master button-maker. He supplied all 40 of us with a zip-loc bag full of Obama buttons! We walked around downtown Portland, asking people if they were registered to vote. We met some very fired up people! I met an elderly Obamacan who had recently switched parties to vote for Obama (we gave him a few extra buttons), and some high schoolers who had just gotten their hair done for their prom, who had been meaning to register for awhile. Most people were very nice, and I'd say that at least 70 percent of the people we talked to were excited about Obama (it helped that Bill Clinton was in town right then for a small rally, so he pulled most of the Hillary supporters away). We met back up after four hours of canvassing to tally up our forms, and got 235 voters! I got 9 myself. The HQ volunteers said that was the highest they had gotten so far from a group our size! Afterwards, I got dinner with some fantastic people. The best part of the whole experience was how connected I felt to people from such diverse backgrounds, and of all different ages. I was nervous beforehand that I would feel uncomfortable (I'm only 19), but I felt very respected, and had so much fun with everyone! We all shared why we support Obama, what we thought about the campaign, and laughed about how we all felt instantly connected to another Obama supporter, even if we just saw them with a button on from across a street! We piled back on the double-decker, and were treated to some Hale's Ales beer, by our very generous driver. We toasted to Obama, and to this wonderful movement.It was an unforgettable day. I am so grateful for Obama, and this movement he has created.
Here's a photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/autarken/2446230066/in/pool-bus-for-obama
