I attended the first meeting of PSU Students for Obama. I have to admit, I'm pretty psyched. I hadn't really done much with the campaign for a while since I got back to school, but this is a pretty sweet way to get back involved. Right now we're focusing mainly on voter registration and stuff like that, but all in all, I am impressed. A quick note about the meeting: 68 people showed up, including 2 professors, 11 grad students, and the son of a famous local football coach who I won't name out of respect for his privacy. A pretty eclectic group, from many places, many majors, and a lot of different reasons for supporting Sen. Obama. One thing that we all seemed to share was a common belief in this man and what he represents. It would be trite to say "hope" or "change" or any one of the millions of buzzwords floating around today, what struck me was "authenticity."
Barack Obama has given us something to believe in. It's the idea that people, like us, can have a say. It's the wonders of the grassroots movement. Back in 04 when Dean got the ball rolling on web-fundraising I don't think anyone could have predicted how big this would get. I don't think I even considered the possibility of joining a campaign, much less writing a blog on the official website. That was the most fascinating thing about PA's Obama-nation.
According to Greg Stewart, co-chair of the PA State committe for Barack Obama, there are currently only two paid staffers in PA. This will change in a few days as more people come into the state to gear up for our primary in April, but still that's pretty impressive. With those two people are hundreds, thousands of volunteers. People like the 68 students who packed themselves into an empty classroom in Williard Building. People who wouldn't usually get involved, people who never thought they'd have a voice. We are the ones building this campaign. We own it. We are it.
I've been leary of classifying anything "a movement" unless I was sarcastic. Barack Obama's campaign has already become more than a campaign. It is a movement. It is a revolution. It is OUR TIME!
Vote for Hope in O8!
-Tim
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