Halloween has passed, so October is over! Which means America is just three days away from electing a new President, and hopefully realizing this incredible movement with an Obama White House.
And like all of the last few months, October was full of Obama activity appropriate for the season. A perfect example is the website www.yeswecarve.com, with multiple Barack O'Lanterns on display for Halloween.
Ohio has its own fall customs too, and Barack supporters made sure to infuse their love of the candidate with these traditions. Doug, from the Rural Team, has a report from the Pumpkin Show in Circleville:
One of Central Ohio’s biggest festivals of the year, the Circleville Pumpkin Show enjoyed some great weather and tens of thousands of people. I saw about 15 city blocks packed with people enjoying food, crafts, rides, parades, and bands. The “Greatest Free Show on Earth” awarded first place to the largest pumpkin (over 1300 pounds) and featured every imaginable type of pumpkin fare.I sampled pumpkin burgers, pumpkin cheese cake, pumpkin cannoli, and, of course, pumpkin pie. Beyond the enthusiasm for the orange, I saw some great enthusiasm for Obama. This young family proudly sports their Obama stickers.And finally, the Obama pumpkin at the Pickaway Dem booth, that smartly wears a stocking cap to meet the October chill.
One of Central Ohio’s biggest festivals of the year, the Circleville Pumpkin Show enjoyed some great weather and tens of thousands of people. I saw about 15 city blocks packed with people enjoying food, crafts, rides, parades, and bands. The “Greatest Free Show on Earth” awarded first place to the largest pumpkin (over 1300 pounds) and featured every imaginable type of pumpkin fare.
I sampled pumpkin burgers, pumpkin cheese cake, pumpkin cannoli, and, of course, pumpkin pie. Beyond the enthusiasm for the orange, I saw some great enthusiasm for Obama. This young family proudly sports their Obama stickers.
Lastly, a couple weeks ago, after the Toledo area knocked an unprecedented 28,883 doors, local Field Organizer Liz carved her own Barack O'Lantern in celebration:
And with all this energy and enthusiasm, plus everyone helping to get out the vote, in a couple days this amazing campaign will prove Barack Obama to be Mr. November--no longer Senator, but President-elect!
Do your part. Get out the vote.
Yesterday, an all-star line-up of Ohio's biggest political figures hit the road in the Heartland Change RV, to bring word of Barack's rural and small town policies right to the people who would benefit the most. Governor Ted Strickland, Senator Sherrod Brown, Treasurer Richard Cordray, and Congressman Tim Ryan all got the chance to speak out for Barack in Southern Ohio yesterday.
The day started with canvass kick-offs and economic forums in Circleville, Chillicothe, and Waverly. The group reiterated that with the economy in such peril, Ohioans--and especially those in rural and small town areas--could not afford to give George Bush's policies four more years to play out under John McCain. Below is a picture of Congressman Ryan, Mr. Cordray, Gov. Strickland, and Sen. Brown (in that order), talking shop in the Heartland Change RV as it pulls out of Waverly:
By all accounts, jobs (or lack thereof) are the biggest issue in this area, and Barack's Plan for the Heartland to invest in infrastructure and green energy would provide plenty of them. The foursome brought this message all the way to Governor Strickland's birthday party in Lucasville, in his home county of Scioto. (The Governor's actual birthday was August 4th--the same day as Barack's!) With the Governor as Master of Ceremonies and his wife providing musical accompaniment, each speaker pressed the need for change in this election season, and the crowd was all ears, proudly waving Obama-Biden rally signs. Scioto County may have gone for Hillary in the primary, but with Ted (and Hillary herself!) on board, the region stands poised with potential to swing blue for Barack on November 4th.
It was a family affair, with many of those in attendance personal friends (if not actual family) of the Governor. He stayed to chat with every last one before heading to the Jackson Apple Festival, while local supporters posed for pictures in front of the Heartland Change RV.
It seemed that at Ted's birthday party, the support for Barack at was as overwhelming as the beautiful vistas in Scioto County.
What can you expect at a Central Ohio Happy Hour for Obama?
FUN. This optional icebreaker gives each person a paper with the following traits (Thanks, Brian Fulcher, for putting this together. This will change for each event.) The goal is to get signatures from people with each trait. The person with the most signatures wins something...anyone want to donate a prize? This is fun for everyone and you will get to know a lot of people that are dedicated to our Ohio effort.
find someone who...1. voted for John Kerry in 20042. voted for George W. Bush in 2004 or 2000 (maybe?)3. has campaigned in Iowa or New Hampshire4. can name the last 5 presidents and the years they held office5. was a Dean supporter in 20046. has been to camp obama7. has donated to the Barack Obama campaign8. can name the five freedoms in the first amendment of the bill of rights9. has seen Sicko10. has read an Al Franken book11. knows Mitt Romney's religion12. knows on which tv program Rudy Giuliani appeared in drag13. has dated a Republican14. was against the Iraq war from the start15. is from Chicago16. has ever voted for Dennis Kucinich17. knows which state Mike Gravel is from18. has ever been to Hawaii19. can name 5 supreme court justices20. knows how much John Edwards paid for a haircut
Tables. You can browse tables to see what we are up to, meet committee chairs and talk about our latest initatives. Want to take a road trip to Iowa? Are you ready to do a tabling event? Are you interested in ethnic outreach? Find out about all that and more. You can also buy bumper stickers, buttons and signs.
Food. Some people like to have dinner. Servers will be circulating to take your order from their regular menu. We'll have a really yummy Obama cake...chocolate.
Meeting. Do you just want to hear the basics? Come to the meeting at 7 PM. Find out what our plans are for the future. And...we expect to know more about Senator Obama's expected visit to Ohio by then and will fill you in on that as well.
The next Happy Hour is Wed Sept 26th at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe (1421 Olentangy River Rd). To sign up: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4vddq
Come on out...we'd love to meet you...and we can use all the help we can get. Let's win Ohio for Senator Obama!
