Posts with the tag Camp Obama

10/4-10/5 Camp Obama Manhattan

Benjamin from New York, NY — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:07:03 EDT

eNews - Volume 5 - October 17, 2008

Rick in Maryland — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:02:24 EDT

B E R G E N C O U N T Y F O R B A R A C K O B A M A

"Powered by hope, seeking the change we need."         Volume 5 - October 17, 2008

==============> 18 DAYS LEFT IN THIS CAMPAIGN - please volunteer today!

TONIGHT - FRIDAY 10/17
5:00pm Phone banking at 50 Main Street, Hackensack (BCDO)
6:00pm Phone banking Ramsey    http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs54fc

SATURDAY 10/18
9:00am Coffee -> Canvassing       http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs54kj
12:00pm Canvassing                     http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/canvass/gs5v2j
3:00pm Phone banking Ramsey    http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs54fz

SUNDAY 10/19
12:00pm Canvassing                     http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/canvass/gs5v2h
3:00pm Phone banking Ramsey    http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs54pj

MONDAY 10/20
5:00pm Phone banking at 50 Main Street, Hackensack (BCDO)
6:00pm Phone banking Ramsey   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs54m8
7:30pm Students For Obama       http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/meeting/gsh5zh

TUESDAY 10/21
5:00pm Phone banking at 50 Main Street, Hackensack (BCDO)
6:00pm Phone banking Ramsey   http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs5vv9

WEDNESDAY 10/22
6:00pm Pizza/Calling Ramsey       http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs5vvg

THURSDAY 10/23
5:00pm Phone banking at 50 Main Street, Hackensack (BCDO)
6:00pm Phone banking CFC   check MyBO link below

NOTES: BCDO phonebanking runs 5-9pm, arrive whenever you can, Ramsey Grassroots Office
phonebanking runs 6-8pm please try to arrive no later than 6:30 and bring your laptop.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Obama Grassroots Office & Obama Store
6 Arrow Rd, Suite 205, Ramsey NJ 07446 Telephone: 724-759-0238

HOURS:
Monday-Friday 6-8pm
Saturday 8-10am, 3-6pm
Sunday 3-6pm

30 Days to Go for Early Voting

Phuong from Los Angeles, CA — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:09:45 EDT

Hi All. I am probably one of the biggest cynics on Earth, but I believe that this is the time to act.

My parents were political refugees who came to the states with the ideal of America as being a land of liberty and freedom. I would like to keep that a possibility, a work in progress.

I'm writing on behalf of the Obama Campaign. We are revving up for phone drives in the battle states Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico, specifically calling them to get out the early vote.

WHY THE EARLY VOTE? This is to ensure that we lock in these very important swing states. We have October 18 - October 31 to do this. 30 minutes of your time dialing and talking can impact the next 4 years. Can you handle for more years of Bush/Cheney Deregulation and Pro-War Policies with McCain/Palin? Please help yourself, your family, your future, and community.

We need these three states to push us over the 270 electoral votes to win the Presidential election. Though no one ever agrees a hundred percent with any candidate (it's a byproduct of having a mind of one's own in a free society), Obama offers the best broad-based and holistic solution to what the U.S. needs right now.

How you can help:

Register for the Friend to Friend Phoning to the Battle States CO, NV, and NM (and have them register for early voting. You can do this for yourself and friends, too. See link below).

Forward this e-mail to your friends/family. Forwarding this message and/or sending it to your e-mail list can mean your 1 vote times 100.

Have phone bank parties.

Host an event to get out the vote.

Friend to Friend Sign Up - Phone Lists for Battle States
http://my.barackobama.com/page/votercontact/login

Early Voter Information for Battle States
https://www.voteforchange.com/?secure=ofa

Camp Obama Wraps Up in Hot Springs

Micah — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:54:45 EDT

On Sunday volunteers gathered in Hot Springs for the state's fifth Camp Obama field organizer training. Over the past month over 600 Arkansans have participated in Camp Obama in Texarkana, Hot Springs, Fayetteville, Jonesboro and Little Rock.

Participants learned key organizing skills including voter persuasion, canvassing, phone banking, Get Out the Vote and Neighbor to Neighbor. These newly minted Deputy Field Organizers will join the hundreds of other volunteers working for change in Arkansas and our neighboring battleground state, Missouri.

With less than a month to go before election day, the hard work of volunteers is more important than ever. We need your help to win Arkansas for Obama-- call or visit your local field office today to sign up for phone banking or to join The Big MO.

My Camp Obama Great Experience

Grace from Palo Alto, CA — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:04:21 EDT

Grace's Camp Obama Blog - September 27 - San Jose

8:00 - Arrived and registered at the Union Hall at 240 Market Street in San Jose. For the next half hour, the room filled up with about 100 people. Fruit and pastries and juices were served. Our name tags included a number 1 through 11. I was in group #6 and took my seat in the first row. On every seat was a handout of the slides for the day (apparently 60 slides reduced and copied front and back).

The ethnic make up of the group was representative of California in the following order - 1/2 Caucasians, rest were African American, Hispanic, East Indian, Asian. We were told that for every person that was in the room, 6 had applied. In the volunteer organizational hierarchy, we are trained to be Deputy Field Organizers in charge of volunteers. We were told the ground organization of Obama to McCain is 35:1. The dems have out-organized the GOP with the largest campaign organization in US history. There are almost 350 field offices. The Hispanics for Obama are called "Obamanos"! They are jazzed!

Barack has 10 offices all over California with 13 paid staff. We are the feeder group for training volunteers for neighboring states. A couple of weeks ago, Nevada asked for 100 volunteers and 500 volunteers signed up, were trained and deployed! Late today, we were told that Colorado and Missouri have asked also asked for volunteers to help.

Goals of the organization - Win on November 4th and Organize our country so we can win on November 4th and ready to do the work on January 20th (the Jan 20th goal was never discussed today).

Goals of Camp Obama (1) Develop a compelling 'Story of Self" (2) Learned to volunteer in Battleground States (3) Made calls to voters in a Battleground State (4) Learned how to build Neighborhood teams (5) Learned how to Recruit and Retain volunteers.

The "Story of Self" which must be told in 2 minutes with the following elements - Character, Challenge, Choice, Outcome. We had two guest volunteers who told their (Story of Self) stories. AWESOME!!! One was the most gorgeous African American father of two in medical school who told a fantastic story of a near death experience that changed his values and caused him to join the Obama campaign. (He's a better, more emotionally connected speaker than OBAMA!) The second speaker was a 15 year old young lady who showed up at a volunteer meeting out of curiosity and was immediately put to work. She is now so fired up about Obama that she and a girlfriend went to Nevada and knocked on doors for votes. She has started a high school group for Obama. Fantastic young lady who was SO amazing! Tall blond girl who was dressed in shorts and flip flops!

We broke into groups to work on our own stories. Turns out Group 6 is Palo Alto and Menlo Park. There were 6-7 of us. (One VC, one Apple SW engineer, one Palo Alto mom, 2 retirees, didn't know what others did). We worked on our stories for one hour. After practicing, we had to choose the best one to be told in the larger group. My story was chosen. Each group's representative shared their stories and the group cheered each of our stories WILDLY!!! Lots of inspiration and emotion at this point. One woman told the story of her daughter's suicide due to lack of ability to obtain medication because of no insurance. Many were in tears. She got a standing ovation.

GOING TO NEVADA - We had all committed to at least one weekend in Nevada. Nevada strategy: Look at the numbers - tells you why.

2004

Total Registered Voters: 854,822

Registered Democrats: 343,679

Registered Republicans: 355,116

Democratic Deficit: -11,437

George Bush: 50.47%

John Kerry: 47.88%

Difference: -2.59%

2008

Total Registered Voters: 1,059,613

Registered Democrats: 458,877

Registered Republicans: 397,172

Democratic Advantage: 61,705

(as of today, the number is closer to 80,00)

Statewide Goal - 52% of the vote for Barack (2 more congressional seats)

We broke for lunch at 12:30 or so. Pizza and Salad for lunch. During lunch we were encouraged to sign up for the Nevada trip. Our team was told that we would probably go to Carson City. It turns out that most people get together and drive to Nevada and share the gas cost. They get up at 3:30 and arrive in Nevada by the 9:00 am orientation and training. The travel assistance group does everything via the database. A bank of laptops were available for our sign ups. The technology of the Obama Campaign was impressive. Our team would like to go together and targeted the second weekend in October. I was the coordinator of the contact information.

After lunch we had a guest speaker - Kamala Harris. She was warmly welcomed. She did the cheerleading stuff for our candidate. We almost got Al Gore (he was at the San Jose Fairmont) but was dragged away by his handlers for another event.

Next - Phone CALLS to New Mexico - we were all asked to bring at least one cell phone and charger to this event. Many of us dreaded this part. Fear of getting into a debate, fear of rejection, fear of getting an angry McCain voter! That's because most of us didn't understand the role of the phone bank. The real purpose of the phone bank is to IDENTIFY the voter, NOT to CONVINCE the voter. ALWAYS be respectful, keep it brief (30 seconds) and document every call. The training included role playing which was very helpful. We were all given call sheets with 40 people and sent off for an hour with a script. Just as we were told, most people were not home. In these cases, we circled "NH". I reached 10 people out of my 40. One told me she was having a party and hung up on me. All the rest were already OBAMA voters!! I was calling the Santa Fe area code and that's obviously a BLUE area code. My entire group had the same experience. The best answer was for us to get an UNDECIDED VOTER but I didn't get any. I had one call when the answer was an abrupt Yes. I suspected the person said Yes, he was voting for Obama just to get me off the phone. All the rest were enthusiastic OBAMA voters and one thanked me for working for the campaign.

We tabulated all the statistics at the end of the hour - 2,845 calls were made, 784 actual connections and 590 Obama voters. This information will be carefuly inputted into the database. All undecided voters are put on a list for the travelers to Nevada who will go door to door and make every attempt to talk to this person in person. That's what our group will be doing the second weekend in October. We are warned this is very tiring and to wear comfortable shoes.

Our next speaker was another new volunteer. In three weeks she had created a new neighborhood organization in her tiny town in the Santa Cruz area of 70 volunteers - two phone bank events every week. Her story is SUPER inspiring. She said that everything is at stake in this election and believes she is saving America for her children. This attitude was echoed over and over throughout the day. Another amazing, inspired, motivated, passionate person.

Everyone felt this was the most important election of our time. This election is a "CAN"T LOSE". The stakes are too high. The future of our country and our children are at stake. You could almost hear the "AMENS" all around the room when the passion and urgency of this campaign is communicated.

This was my first political campaign and it was a great experience! Made some new friends and learned a lot!

October 8, 2008 - Phone Bank Event at Griffin Home - 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Please join if you have time and let me know.

If you want to drop in and make some phone calls yourself, the Palo Alto office on El Camino Real is open from 9 to 9 every week day. 9 to 8 on Saturday and 11-8 on Sunday. Rachi (Rocky) is the volunteer in charge. She is an beautiful Indian women who just received her MD. She was offered a position by Kaiser and told them she had to delay her start date because she has to work full time for Obama until the election.

OBAMA/BIDEN 2008!!!!

Camp Obama, where art thou?

Adam J. Bezark — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:45:18 EDT

About a month ago, I signed up to attend a "Camp Obama" training weekend in Los Angeles. The campaign office's response is making me a little nervous.

I received several phone calls from the campaign since submitting my application. The first came a few days after I applied. The caller said space for the training session was extremely limited, so they could only accept volunteers who were prepared to make a major time commitment. Was I able to spend five weeks in Nevada as an unpaid intern? My answer was, sadly, no. Despite having just been laid off, I still have my girlfriend and kids to look after, and I need to start generating income as soon as possible. The caller hung up, and I assumed I'd been rejected.

From Carter to Obama--

Jeanne Ringe — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:59:15 EDT

A lot has changed in the 32 years since my last campaign experience. When Jimmy Carter ran for President, I worked in his Austin, Texas headquarters making signs, stuffing envelopes, and taking messages. In those days, before voicemail, the internet, (even home computers!) campaigning was one big rah rah barn-raiser, with lots of enthusiasm but a serious lack of professionalism.

Two days at Camp Obama showed me what a difference a few decades make. Direct voter contact is still important, but voter ID is so sophisticated that it's hard to see how a candidate with this kind of organization can lose.

Anything's possible, of course, and it seems the people at the top of this campaign are preparing for that, too, by doing everything in their power to capture a comfortable lead so there will be NO DOUBTS on election day as to who really won.

The campaign's mantra--respect, empower, include--could only have sprung from the conscience of a Democrat (or a little d-democrat), IMHO, and it informs every aspect of this campaign. The volunteer traing, phone banking, social networking, grassroots effort, canvassing, are all imbued with this philosophy and I am honored to be a part of it.

If Barack runs the country the way he has run this campaign....one can only hope. And act, to make sure he has a chance to do so!

Deputy Field Organizers Deployed to Battleground States

Janice NJ HQ — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:19:13 EDT

The room at the IBEW in North Brunswick yesterday was packed with energized supporters attending Camp Obama. Over 200 volunteers received real world organizing experience that will have a direct impact on this election.

“When I signed-up for Camp Obama, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Andrew Hymas from Bridgewater, NJ. “After today’s training, I’m excited to hit the ground running in a battleground state where I’m needed. I want to put my community organizing skills to use and get out the vote for Barack!”

This campaign is fueled by passion and enthusiasm of ordinary supporters and relies on leaders who can organize these supporters and turn their vigor into votes on Election Day.

Geoffrey Borshof, NJ statewide deputy field director, trains volunteers to become deputy field organizers.

Graduates of Camp Obama will go on to become Deputy Field Organizers who will lead this campaign to victory in crucial battleground states around the country.

A voluteer signs up for deployment in Pennsylvania.

If you’d like to help ensure that Barack wins in key battleground states, please click here.

Report from Camp Obama

Parker, Virginia for Obama — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:11:51 EDT

Today I attended a training with the Virginia for Obama team. Well it was a long, long day but boy do these Obama staffers have their act together! We got school-ed and ready for the field. So what's in store for this Deputy Field Organizer, you ask? Lots of phone banking, volunteer recruitment, canvassing, staging field offices and of course the final GOTV efforts (Get out the vote!) the week leading up to the election.

After the training was over, I scurried on home to get started...I sent out a few reminder emails to encourage friends and family to volunteer at a local phone bank or help with voter registration in the next week. Then I set up this nifty blog and fundraising page. It was easy - you can do it too!

MY MAIL CARRIER'S GOING TO NEVADA

Blair — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:46:52 EDT

Since my wife and I put Obama stickers on our cars (several months ago), I've had a bunch of friendly chats with our main mail carrier, who's very much a kindred spirit. Today I told him about Camp Obama (was it only last weekend in Long Beach? so much has happened) and our phone bank group, and he told me he's going to Nevada with his union!

I get lots of very warm responses to my bumper sticker (even here in deepest south Orange County) and my "veterans for Obama" pin. The other day in the grocery checkout line, an assistant manager was running the register. He said to me, in a quiet voice:

"I like your pin. We're not allowed to say so, but I like your pin!"

Fired up? Ready to Go!

Camp Obama! YES WE CAN!

asrazvi — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:14:30 EDT

I went to Camp Obama this past weekend and it was amazing! It was an all day event, 8am-8pm and while long, it was invigorating. It was so exciting and motivating to see people from all over the Bay Area from all walks of life come out to support Barack Obama. All these people had come, each with their own story, each with their own reasons and yet all for the same purpose - to do whatever was in their power to win this election! I thought the Camp was really well organized, it started off with really understanding how this campaign was organized and what the central themes of this campaign were - Respect, Empower, and Include. Before going I thought I understood Obama's message of change and inclusion, but after leaving the Camp, I felt that I had an even greater understanding of what he was trying to acheive and how. It seems as if this campaign is being run so differently than most are. Rather than solely trying to win, Obama is trying to win, but not by sacrificing his own values. Those values are integral to how this campaign operates and they are being passed down from to each and every person that volunteers to help out.

After leaving Camp Obama, I was so fired up and definitely ready to go. I know the clock is ticking and we are winding down but I've never been more excited for an election and I'm ready to do whatever I can to help Obama win. I believe now, more than ever that he will bring CHANGE to Washington and he will help all of us acheive our American dreams. He will help to bring a better and brighter future for my daughter, for his and for all the children of this country!

YES WE CAN!!!

My Pride in the Diversity of the Democratic Party

Chris Orcutt, Deputy Field Organizer — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:49:26 EDT

I'll write more about the details of the Camp Obama training in later posts. For now, I wanted to share with you the pride I felt upon seeing the incredible DIVERSITY of the group that showed up. Check this out:

- A man who emigrated from Nigeria and now works for General Motors as an engineer on the Chevy Volt project.

- The son of a single mother from Haiti.

- A Native American freelance writer.

- A middle-aged WASP whose families were here in the mid-1600s, whose five-times-great grandfather was a Colonel in the American Revolution, and who has a great-great-grandmother that was a Passamaquoddy Native American (me, Chris Orcutt).

- Several politically active African-American women, ages 21 to 80.

- Two or three white male "recovering attorneys."

- Seven or eight current professional women and former soccer moms, ages 30-60.

- A white male college student majoring in Political Science.

- Three or four hippies who campaigned for Robert Kennedy.

- A disenchanted Republican who is also a retired Wall Street broker.

THAT is America, folks! More to come.

Camp Obama!

Tim — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:28:54 EDT

Just got back from Camp Obama in San Francisco. What an experience! This campaign, in addition to being inspiring, is very well organized. Never a dull moment from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM! Met lots of great motivated volunteers who, like me, will be heading to Nevada over the next three months to support the Nevada Obama campaign.

Fired up and read to go!

Camp Obama

Harold from Oakland, CA — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:56:21 EDT

I just received notice last night that I have been accepted to attend "Camp Obama".

My understanding of this training camp is that I will prepare to travel to a (nearby?) battleground state to work on the campaign (as part of the ground forces!) until election day. The camp is in San Francisco this coming Sunday!

I am excited at the prospect. I want to get away from my computer screen and the insipient ulcers from reading all the news.

I'll be sorry to have to be out of town for my birthday, Ruth's birthday, and our 20th wedding anniversary, but an Obama victory would be the gift that keeps on giving, and I'll do anything I can (legally) to help it happen.

I'll try and keep the blog up to date so you can enjoy the experience along with me.

My Vacation at Camp Obama

Howard Chesley — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:57:43 EDT

I just wanted to report about my experience this weekend attending Camp Obama, a training camp sponsored by the campaign to make field organizers out of citizens.

Last week, depressed by the trend in the polls and after reading and having forwarded the latest Sarah Palin email to my circle, I wondered what more I could do to reach people beyond my mailing list and outside of the already converted. I logged on to the Obama website and found that there was a training program scheduled for all day on the 13th and 14th of September in downtown LA. The application is intricate- presumably to weed out slackers. I answered the questions and signed up.

After what I perceived as a loss of momentum of the campaign and fearful that the Obama organization was foundering, I think that my expectations on Saturday morning were low. What I found those two days in the cafeteria at LA Trade Tech College was very heartening. There were 300 wonderful attendees (200 were anticipated- as they say "Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving") from every part of LA and of every racial, ethnic and social distinction and included a few old friends. And without exception these people I met were very smart, competent and motivated. In fact I was humbled. You would be proud to be a part of this group.

I'll be glad to tell anyone more about the program, but the bottom line is that is that I feel better about the prospects for Obama's election and I feel better about what I can do. The leadership was gifted and inspiring and I learned a lot. The program is organized, logical and backed by astounding technology for finding and tracking votes. Its ethos is grass roots and gives great independence to the volunteers in the way they communicate and the tasks they can do. For example, this email to you is not in any way part of the program.

The major thrust of the Obama campaign in California is to partner with Nevada to win their five electoral votes. California, as you know, is a safe blue state, and Nevada is an important part of the overall electoral strategy. This means telephoning, contacting, registering and tracking voters in Nevada.

I got a better insight into the organization that helped Obama be nominated and they are the best and brightest. Important for me, I don't think I'm spinning my wheels. I think that you would be pleased to be involved in the campaign if you choose. We all know what the stakes are.

Get Ready for Women's Weekend of Action with Camp Obama - Mamas for Obama!

Sarah Gallagher — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:29:55 EDT

On Sunday, September 21st please join us for Mamas for Obama, a special Camp Obama mini-training session, geared toward mothers who want to roll up their sleeves and volunteer for the campaign but cannot attend a traditional two-day Camp Obama. There will be child-care assistance in the park during the training session.

Join us for Camp Obama - Mamas for Obama
A special mini-training welcoming Moms who can volunteer for Obama for America

Kids welcome
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st
Location: Culver City (address will be confirmed on RSVP)
Check in: 12:30pm
Training: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
RSVP: http://my.barackobama.com/CampObamaCAMama

Reminder: Camp Obama in SoCal

Becca — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:38:00 EDT

I attended Camp Obama last month in Los Angeles and cannot begin to explain the impact it has had on my life and my role in this campaign. I encourage all of you that can make the time to attend!

Please keep in mind that is is intensive and extensive. It will be a full 2 days of important information and workshop style learning but again, I cannot reccomend it more.

Join Camp Obama - Hudson Valley Deputy Field Organizer Training Sept 20-21st

Beth — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:55:47 EDT

Deputy Field Organizer training this weekend in the Hudson Valley
Commit to moving to a swing state for the next five weeks--there will be a training in the Hudson Valley area (location to be determined) this weekend, Sep. 20th-21st. Goal is to get 120 people to come to the Hudson Valley Camp Obama and relocate to PA. Campaign can provide housing and food but not transportation.

The NY Field team will be conducting Camp Obama Hudson Valley trainings this weekend. As part of our Camp Obama training, we place time in our schedule to get a phone call from a regional field director/field organizer in PA to do a live conference call with our campers on site to walk through a “day-in-the-life” of an Obama field organizer in a battleground state.

Location:
Indian Rock Shopping Center
128 Route 59
Suffern NY 10901
www.loopnet.com/property/15007741/1-28-Route-59/

Saturday and Sunday from 9am – 3/4pm.

Breakfast will be provided both mornings.
We are looking first and foremost for those ready to be deployed for five weeks to a battleground state, preferably Pennsylvania. We will also take those who are ready to go out for four weekends. If you are not sure about someone’s eligibility definitely just pass them on

Contact: Moira Kelley, 917-273-2837, mkelley@barackobama.com

Camp Obama September 13 & 14

Ellen Sloan of CA CD 30W — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:06:45 EDT

I have just found the best way to relieve my anxiety about the election and the antidote for the depression and hopelessness I have felt over the last 10 days. Ever since Palin became the latest phenom I have been irritable (just ask Katy and Cleo) and distracted. I have transformed into a news junkie reading the latest on the election on websites I have never visited before and watching the state polls. I have never volunteered for a political campaign before but I am so tired of having elections taken from us that I had to do something. So I went to Camp Obama this weekend and now I know we are going to win.

The community organization Obama has built is incredibly impressive especially here in California. 300 volunteers signed up for Camp Obama in LA this weekend and an extra 100 showed up. (And there will be 12 more Camp Obama's in So Cal in the next month or so.) We learned about the grass roots organization Obama has built and the incredible on-line tools that they are using to organize and communicate. The Republicans have nothing like Camp Obama, their on-line tools nor has McCain invested in community organizers like Obama has. We learned why the polls are inaccurate (so don't waste your time reading them). One of the articles I read last week basically said Democrats should relax. The Obama campaign knows what it is doing. Don't get all caught up in Palin's celebrity. Well I saw the inside and I am relaxed, breathing and confident we will win.

Palin has energized the Democratic base, Hillary supporters (yes it's true) and others. In fact they call Palin the gift that keeps on giving. The westside of LA is very motivated and powerful and represented almost half of those at Camp Obama this weekend. Now you may say a lot of good that does us when California, and especially the westside, will go for Obama anyway and we need this kind of support in the battle ground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Mexico, etc. And that is exactly what the California Obama campaign is all about. The sole focus for California is Nevada. We are lending our organization to Nevada.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. We need volunteers to call potential voters in Nevada and to go on road trips to Las Vegas, for those of you that live in the LA area. I made 20 calls this weekend (in less than one hour) and it was not hard at all. Some people seemed to be hungry for contact with the Obama campaign. We have phone banks set up across the westside to make calls evenings and weekends. You can even call from your local Starbucks using your computer and cell phone. I will be organizing folks to join these phone banks and phoning myself. If you are interested in a road trip to Vegas then I can hook you in. I am going for the weekend of October 18 & 19th and for November 1st thru 4th, election night. We also need people to help with data management and people that speak Spanish to call hispanic voters in Nevada. I guarantee you that if take part in some way over the next 51 days you will ease your anxiety and depression and meet some amazing people.

Camp Obama: Day One

Dinah Malone — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:29:07 EDT

Attended Day One of Camp Obama here in Ventura, California. A very energizing day. Heard a lot of moving and inspirational personal stories. People who have worked in the primaries shared highlights of their work with Obama in New Mexico, Texas and Nevada.

Also, we began reviewing the tasks we need to accomplish between now and November 4th to have a successful November 5th.

Setup our team from East Ventura. Will choose our coordinators tomorrow and plan our first phone bank event. We are excited and ready to get moving.

Camp Obama - The beginning of the Adventure

Princetta — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:02:06 EDT

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend Camp Obama. I can't tell you how excited I was. I actually couldn't sleep the night before. I laid awake all night watching television. Then at 7 am I decided to get dressed. Since I live in the suburbs I stayed at my brother’s townhouse in Chicago. I know he was happy to see me finally get involved in the campaign because I've been driving him crazy about it. By 8 am I was ready to go. Unfortunately, the class didn't start until 10:00 am and we were only a half hour away. So I waited. And waited... And waited....

At 9:00 am my brother gave me a ride to the training location. It was held in a large training room and the room was filled. I sat at a table with 4 attorneys, a CEO, a law student and a teacher and I have never fell in-like so quickly with a group of people in my life. Each one of them came to the campaign for their own reasons but strangely enough somehow they all felt like my reasons too.

Attend a California Camp Obama

michelle parr — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:17:52 EDT

I attended the Camp Obama in San Diego on 9/6-7. It was probably one of the most energizing events I've attended despite the fact that it was like a meeting/clasroom style and really hot the one day; conditions ripe for mind-wandering!

The skills that I learned there will help out even beyond the election. Senator Obama is running a different kind of campaign. The grassroots aspect of it is enormous and fired up.

Moving Beyond Just a Sign in the Yard

Paul Walerow — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:27:45 EDT

Change is needed. This election is too important to be left to chance. With the election so apparently close between the two candidates, I feel that I need to do more to help elect the person I truly believe in. Tomorrow I begin that journey.

Camp Obama this weekend

Bonny Davidson — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:46:55 EDT

I'm going to Camp Obama! I'll be doing two days of training with around 400 other Obama supporters to become a deputy field organizer this Saturday and Sunday.

Community Organizer

Jose — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:25:48 EDT

Mr. Obama, I personally started following you because of what you represent for our country, I know that the media, old style politicians from both parties, and of course the GOP machine can startle even the best of us, but we are still here supporting you and we still have HOPE. Let’s focus on the most important part of this campaign, mobilizing those of us who want REAL CHANGE, after all this is our campaign and we must work hard to WIN this November.

Like many others that have signed up to this website and volunteer at all the different campaign events, I too consider myself a community organizer and did not appreciate the republican party’s attempt to belittle the value and hard work that go hand in hand with being one.

I praise Obama for staying on the high road and would like him not to ignore these attacks but to turn around and show the voters how petty and unfounded they are.

Camp Obama is a great tool for all COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS, if you were as offended as I was during the GOP convention, this is the venue where you can channel that energy and together with other Community Organizers we will show them how a grass roots campaign is WON.

OBAMA/BIDEN 08

Full Speed Ahead

Maurice Holman — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:02:55 EDT

So I have just signed on to be a Deputy Field Officer for the Obama campaign. This means I'll be sent to a battleground state to help with voter registration, get-out-the-vote (GOTV), and talking to undecided voters. My involvement came through something called Camp Obama, which is a two-day training initiative that goes over 1) the fundamentals of organizing, 2) Senator Obama's message, and 3) general leadership points.

I won't lie, two full days of training can be a bit long. But there were three things that made it worth the effort (you know, besides the larger issue of electing a competent, non-cynical president): 1) our instructor was cheerful, enthusiastic, and genuinely cares about what she's doing. 2) We were given a tour of the wonderful national headquarters of the Obama campaign -- which is awe inspiring in its understated, youthful, hectic (even on Saturday), and positive ways. 3) I met a wonderful new group of friends -- 5 of them in fact -- and we call ourselves the "Crazy Eights." (Our table was table 8).

One of the greatest things about this campaign is the way it's able to reach different people from all walks of life. It's like diversity on steroids. We had two accomplished writers: Norma and Laura. A veteran volunteer and retiree: Bobette. A (former?) Republican small business owner: Nancy. A recently engaged (and refreshingly positive) young Latina from the corporate world: Maribel. And, a recent college graduate who will soon be starting law school: Latrice.

And then there's me: a recent law school grad who is just trying to make sense of the world.

So, I hope to blog about my adventures during the next two months as we work to elect Barack Obama.

South SF Camp Obama - Scattered Reflection

Raider Spence — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:00:40 EDT

Saturday.....

Tired.....Akili.......Alive......New Energy......Learning.......

People together.....similar values......dreams........beliefs......different histories.......races.....religions

UNITY!

Sunday

Real Tired......Akili......Strugeling to lift soul on Sunday........Barack Race Speech.......ALIVE....NEW ENERGY

MyBO!!......Intern in Nevada....JUST DO IT!!!......for your furture........take control.....DONT FOLLOW--->>>LEAD!!

East Bay Mission!! .......Make it happen!!

FIRED UP!! ---->>> READY TO GO!! ---->>> TO?!?! ---->>> NEVADA!!

Camp Obama

Elizabeth Hall — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:34:01 EDT

Hi all,

I just completed the Camp Obama Seminar held in San Mateo. I thought I report on the experience for those of you who are curious or haven't heard about it.

Camp Obama was two days long (Sat-Sun 9am-5pm) and they don't waste a minute. There is a lot of motivational clapping going on but for the most part it is about training us to become... Here it comes... Community Organizers. Turns out it may be kind of useful;) They teach you how to communicate and give you pointers on Leadership. You will actually do some phone banking (I hated the idea but am now a convert) and attempt to recruit new volunteers.

It was a highly useful and enjoyable experience. I highly recommend you look and see if there is another you can attend, or better yet get some on the job training canvassing or making phone calls.

Liz

Camp Obama Re-Cap

Xavier Lopez-Ayala — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:59:43 EDT

Sandy practices door-knocking with another Camp Obama attendee.

Yesterday, the Minnesota Campaign for Change held two sessions of Camp Obama in St. Paul, site of the Republican National Convention.

Over 500 grassroots supporters from across the state learned the techniques and strategy that will drive this campaign to victory in November.

Sandy from Falcon Heights writes:

I attended the morning session of Camp Obama. I was very impressed with the size of the crowd--nearly 400 participants. Everything was well organized and helpful.
One great thing about the training was that audience members gave brief speeches of why they're for Obama and then people gave examples of reasons people have said they don't support Obama. This helped us prepare for things we might hear from people and how to respond.
We did some door knock role-playing and got to practice talking to folks about Obama's plan to bring change to Washington, support new energy for America, and restore America's promise to its citizens and to the world.
The goal of the training was to create a Team Obama in each area/town/neighborhood. These grassroots leaders will organize their neighborhoods under the direction of their local field organizers, so we cover every inch of the state.
I'm excited about this prospect, and fired up and ready to do my part to bring change to Minnesota and America!

If you, like Sandy, are ready to help out in your neighborhood, click here to learn more about the Team Obama program.

Did you attend a Camp Obama training session yesterday? Share your story.

Picture Post: Camp Obama Minnesota

Xavier Lopez-Ayala — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:08:46 EDT

Over the course of the day, more than 500 grassroots supporters from across the state will go through the Camp Obama training, equipping them with the techniques and strategies they'll need to take ownership over this campaign for change in their communities by joining their local Team Obama.

The aim of the Team Obama program is to ensure that our Barack's Campaign for Change has trained and empowered volunteer leaders across Minnesota. Click here to learn more about joining Team Obama in your neighborhood.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of the Gulf Coast region. If you can, please a make a donation to the Disaster Relief efforts of the Red Cross.

Visit http://mn.barackobama.com/howyoucanhelp to learn more ways to help those affected by Hurricane Gustav.

Special invitation to Camp Obama Minnesota

Jeff Blodgett — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:23:47 EDT

I sent out this email yesterday to our supporters across the state.

Friend--
I want to tell you about an exciting event we are launching during the Republican Convention in St. Paul. It's called Camp Obama.

On Monday, September 1st, people like you across Minnesota will be taking their support for this movement to the next level by learning the organizing principles that this campaign and our movement for change are built on.

Camp Obama attendees will receive real world organizing experience that will have a direct impact on this election. After the training, attendees will step into crucial community positions with the Campaign for Change Team Obama program here in Minnesota.

Find out more about this exciting opportunity to take a leadership role in this movement for change.

By participating in Camp Obama, you'll get the kind of experience that Barack got as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he learned that real change happens from the bottom up.

That experience transformed Barack's life and made him who he is today.

Camp Obama is your chance to put those very same principles into action -- to win this election and to strengthen democracy in communities around the country.

After completing the program, you'll be asked to join our Team Obama program in Minnesota. Alongside other Team Obama members, you'll register new voters, reach out to friends and family in your community, and persuade undecided voters to join our movement for change.

Apply for a spot at a Camp Obama near you and become a leader of this campaign:

http://my.barackobama.com/mncampobama

This campaign relies on the passion and enthusiasm of ordinary supporters, but it needs leaders who can organize those supporters and turn their enthusiasm into votes on Election Day.

Camp Obama is your chance to step up and become a leader for this movement.

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeff Blodgett
Minnesota State Director
Obama for America

Why I'm volunteering to make the change I believe in ...

Matthew — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:12:18 EDT

I need to share with you a story about my life and why I have to do everything I can to elect Obama.

I'm joining the Obama campaign as a volunteer organizer because my beautiful intelligent and successful wife is bi-racial, Mexican-Irish, and grew up in Texas. When she grew up her father who was Mexican-American didn't teach her Spanish or immerse her in her grand parents Mexican culture for fear that it would hurt her chances for succeeding in America. He loves his heritage and is very proud of it but he had to hide it to succeed and he raised his daughter to let go of her heritage in order to gain a great education and job. THIS MUST CHANGE. I want to raise my children in an America where they can speak English and Spanish and be openly proud of their mixed ancestry and know that they can achieve their greatest dreams and goals as AMERICANS no matter their race, gender, religious identity or sexual orientation. That is the America I grew up believing in and that is the America Barack Obama promises to fulfill. Just by his being elected we will take an enormous leap forward. I'M DOING THIS FOR MY CHILDREN AND THEIR FUTURE.

THIS IS A MOVEMENT and THIS IS OUR TIME. If you asked yourself what would I have done if I lived during SLAVERY, what would I have done if I lived during WWII, what would I have done if I live during JIM CROW and the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT then THIS IS YOUR TIME! This is the time to DO THE MOST YOU CAN and one day you will look back and say I WAS THERE AND I ACTED. I hope you will join me in this movement and make the change that America desperately needs to become healthy, just and prosperous for EVERYONE.

OUR GOAL AS CALIFORNIANS FOR OBAMA:

1) CALIFORNIA IS "IN THE BAG" SO OUR GOAL IS TO HELP WIN THE BATTLE GROUND STATE OF NEVADA BY 52%.

OUR TOOLS TO WIN NEVADA AND ELECT BARACK:

1) WE ARE A PEOPLE DRIVEN NUMBERS CENTERED ORGANIZATION.

2) WE USE OUR PERSONAL INSPIRATIONAL STORIES TO HELP MOTIVATE OBAMA SUPPORTERS TO JOIN US.

3) WE USE PHONE BANKING, DOOR KNOCKING, AND "GET OUT THE VOTE" ACTIONS TO INCREASE OUR NUMBERS AND WIN NEVADA.

4) IN ADDITION TO #3, WE HAVE RICH DATA TOOLS, SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, AND NATIONAL CAMPAIGN SUPPORT.

5) WE HAVE HEART, PASSION, HOPE AND AN UNSHAKABLE CONVICTION THAT WE WILL WIN.

Join me in taking back America

YES WE CAN!

- Matthew

Wow!

LindaC — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:48:25 EDT

Today I attended the first day of Camp Obama. Like just about everything else about this campaign it was awesome and unifying. About 200 people representing the variety of ethnicities and cultures that make up the population of Southern California gathered as strangers in the morning and, after a long day learning about organizing and activisim departed in the afternoon as colleagues and friends. We are the change!

Camp Obama - Reflections, Part 2

Halford Fairchild, Ph.D. — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:29:23 EDT

What are the ingredients of an effective campaign worker?

having time to work

willingness to talk to others

enthusiasm

passion

honesty

Camp Obama - Reflections, Part 1

Halford Fairchild, Ph.D. — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:15:38 EDT

All I can say is: What a GREAT experience! The event was superbly well organized, well paced, well stocked with food and creature comforts, informative, and fun. Met a lot of GREAT people, and had a great time.

Which leads me to another comment: Ever notice how NICE we Obama folks are? Even in the message boards, people are real CIVIL. Call it the Obama effect.

Camp Obama Group Photo

J. Lowe — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:57:15 EDT

I am so grateful for the Camp Obama learning experience. It was a crash course in politics, and i highly recommend it for those volunteering on behalf of Obama.

Introducing...Kim Ahern

Marc R. Peters — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:39:41 EDT

We are adding yet another blogger to the mix. I had the pleasure of meeting Kim at Camp Obama back in August and I could tell then that she was an incredibly passionate supporter of this campaign:

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it." –Senator Barack Obama

I am currently a second year law student in Rhode Island, originally from Oak Hill, Virginia. I have to admit that up until about four years ago I was completely apathetic to politics. I came to Rhode Island for college and to learn more about community organizing. I began to realize that community organizing was inextricably bound to the political sphere.
Despite my initial hesitation, I began to realize that politics is the potential vehicle for changing our society. And now, Senator Obama is my candidate of choice. His background in community organizing demonstrates that he is the first candidate in years that will can truly empathize with everyday Americans like you and me and avoid ties to special interests.
Community organizer, Saul Alinsky, once said, "There is no such thing as apathy – only bad organizers." Although I once claimed to be apathetic, I take Alinsky's words to heart. Too many people believe our generation, the 18 – 30 year-olds is non-caring, not motivated and just generally lethargic. We can prove them wrong.
Senator Obama's message speaks in some way to every single one of our peers. Perhaps it is universal health care or the rising cost of student loans or the notion that we should treat our fellow citizens with the basic decency that we all deserve. Senator Obama has the ability to reach an entire group of young Americans who previously may not have voted because no one was reaching out to them. This is exactly what Students for Barack Obama is doing and that is why I am proud to be a part of this movement for change.

Camp Obama

DownSouth for Obama 2008 — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 02:33:41 EDT

Google Camp Obama, Atlanta, GA, and you'll find tons of coverage of a unique training experience. Over 300 volunteers convened to find out how they could translate their support for Senator Obama into a reality on primary voting day. We drove and flew in from all around the country--Arizona, Chicago, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Ohio, etc. Obama Campaign staff took good care of us, making sure we were fed and energized. We took care of some serious business as well.

We represented all demographics of America

Praise for Camp Obama

Sam Graham-Felsen — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:43:16 EDT

Over at Off the Bus, Zack Exley writes about Camp Obama and the commitment of our grassroots volunteers:

It's just that they were not big-headed or self-absorbed. In fact, nearly every trainee's "story of self" described a life lived humbly and totally in the service of others...
The story telling exercises are the foundation of the model being used at Camp Obama. But they are not the end goal of the training. After a day of story telling, then came the nuts and bolts: training and exercises on how to function as an effective team, skills training for volunteer recruitment and voter contact and review and explanations of field plans for Georgia, South Carolina and the rest of the South...
There's no question that Camp Obama is a beautiful thing. There's no question that the leaders who attend gain a tremendous amount. There's no question that communities benefit from the leadership development that takes place at Camp Obama.

Whether you've been to Camp Obama or not, you can take initiative and become a grassroots leader in your community. Check out our Action Center for updates on how you can take concrete action to effect change and sign up to host a Countdown to Change house party today.

Camp Obama Preview

Misty F — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:14:35 EDT

I've been watching the blogs to find someone who would write about what it was really like to attend Camp Obama. I was very disappointed when it was postponed in Salt Lake City, but Buffy promises that it will be rescheduled, so I'm very much looking forward to that. I ran across a blog today that linked to an article from Huffington Post, and it was exactly what I was looking for!

[more after the fold]

Camp Obama Grads - Getting time on your side

V, aka VCubed/Virginia V — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:58:34 EDT

It's been less than three weeks since Camp Obama in San Francisco, California. Some of us have made a false start (or two), some of us have had only success. Some of us have actually burned the candle at both ends, we have extra work at the start of a new school year, and are thoroughly burned out already! Oh-oh!

Some of us found our CD (congressional district) groups were large and splintering by city or neighborhood or by outreach philosophies. Others found our groups were small and too few coordinators have to cover too much ground. Some have discovered overlapping districts in various neighborhoods. Maybe the start-up felt (or feels) overwhelming.

Deep breath. Everything starts with a breath. When calm has more or less returned, take stock.

Camp Obama, Part 1-- Impressions of the changin' times

Tanmack — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:37:03 EDT

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it's ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Bob Dylan will be playing Nashville in a couple of weeks, and I'd love to attend his concert but the only tickets left in this second show, recently added due to great demand, are for seats with obstructed views. What the heck. If I'm not too late, we'll probably grab them. His music has always inspired me during political times, and after Camp O, I felt like retrieving my old Dylan songs to reflect, to connect the "then" with the "now."

Camp Obama: Atlanta Edition

Jason Zimmerman — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:09:34 EDT

When Barack Obama stands on the steps of the Capitol and recites the
oath of office, there will have been no single age demographic more
influential in his election than ours. Through the countless
offerings of Camp Obama, and the influx of new Students for Barack
Obama chapters, our generation is ready to make our voices heard.
This is readily seen in Atlanta, where a Camp Obama session brought
out 185 concerned and active citizens, including a 17 year old who
wants to work for change.

Ben Turner, a student at Southwest DeKalb High School, said he got
"motivated to learn political organizing skills in part by problems at his high school, which he said has had malfunctioning air conditioning and crowded classes despite promises that improvements would be made."

Not content to sit on the sidelines and hope that someone would come
along to fix the problems that he and many others faced, Ben decided
to attend Camp Obama and learn the tools needed to run a successful
campaign. "I've got to learn how to organize, not only for Obama, but
for when something needs to be done in my own community," said Turner.
It is this message of hope and change that is driving people to Camp
Obama, that is moving people to stand up, that is motivating a
generation thought to be adrift.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote a solid article about Ben and
others who attended the Georgia Camp Obama, and I recommend it to
anyone who wants to know how the grassroots movement is going.

What "grassroots" really means

Sam Graham-Felsen — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:06:26 EDT

Plenty of people claim to run "grassroots" campaigns, but very few have a candidate and a campaign strategy that actually live up to the term. Barack Obama is different.

His political path didn't begin with a prestigious internship or a conventional top-down job in DC. He cut his political teeth working to organize real people from the bottom up. This week's US News and World Report takes a look at Barack's political education on the South Side of Chicago:

CHICAGO—Far from the centers of power and privilege that have spawned so many commanders in chief, it's an unlikely place to incubate a future president. But the seemingly endless clumps of drab brick apartment buildings and patchy lawns on Chicago's South Side are where Sen. Barack Obama learned some of his most enduring lessons about politics, leadership, and the paths to social change...
As a community organizer in the Altgeld Gardens public housing project in the mid-1980s, Obama, then 23, quickly emerged as a tireless and pragmatic advocate for the community—traits that characterize the kind of president he says he wants to be. "His work as a community organizer was really a defining moment in his life, not just his career," his wife, Michelle, told U.S. News. It helped him decide "how he would impact the world"—assisting people in defining their mutual interests and working together to improve their lives.

We've got a grassroots candidate -- someone who truly believes that real change happens when people organize on a community level -- and that's why we're running a grassroots campaign. Instead of simply sending out mailings, making phone calls, distributing yard signs, we're empowering thousands of people across the country to become grassroots organizers through Camp Obama.

Check out this article on Camp Obama from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"I've got to learn how to organize, not only for Obama, but for when something needs to be done in my own community," said Turner, who hopes to one day study law.
He said the senator offers a message of hope and change, which inspired him to become active.
"For me, Barack Obama is a symbol of what's to come, of an entire movement," Turner said. "Just like MLK [Martin Luther King Jr.] was a symbol for the civil rights movement, Barack Obama is a symbol of his movement."

If you believe in Barack Obama, the best thing you can do is follow in his footsteps and become a grassroots organizer yourself. Sign up for Camp Obama and become a foot soldier for change.

Chicago Camp Obama - Here I Come!

Jim Lyons — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 11:01:48 EDT

I have been accepted for Camp Obama training in Chicago! This is the weekend of September 15th. I'll be flying in on Friday, and leaving on Monday.

I recently had a vacation where my family and I visited Chicago. It was great! I saw the White Sox and the Cubs - at Cellular Park and at Wrigley Field.

We also took in the Chicago production of "The Color Purple."

Although I don't think I'll have as much time to see the sights this time around, the trainining does end at 6:00 PM, so maybe I check out a few more attractions.

Wish me luck!

In peace and HOPE!

Jim Lyons

http://eburgobama08.org

Camp Obama West Update

Sam Graham-Felsen — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:35:10 EDT

A couple weeks ago, I spoke with our Wesern Field Director, Buffy Wicks, about the innovative field program she's running. She talked about Camp Obama West -- a unique grassroots training programs which combines social movement organizing methods with a political organizing approach -- which first launched in Southern California. You can read the interview here. Today, I caught up with Buffy for an update on Camp Obama West.

What's been happening since we last spoke?

In the last couple weeks, I have led trainings in three other regions: Northern California, Phoenix, Arizona, and Boise, Idaho.

One of our Southern California Congressional District (CD) teams had 70 new people show up to a volunteer meeting -- so they’re creating their second generation teams at the neighborhood level, with the next goal of getting people at the precinct level. After having done the Northern California training, we have about forty organizing teams in California who are building more teams underneath them. This is our goal -- to create CD, city, neighborhood, precinct level organizations -- not just in California but all over the West.

Why is this approach important?

We want to establish closer community ties, so that the lower you go, the more voters you are contacting face to face. We already have tens of thousands of supporters in California and the best way to engage them is to have independent, self-sufficient community groups on the most local level possible.

We have so much growth and we want people to feel real ownership in this campaign, instead of just being a name on an email list, we want people to take responsibility by having a specified role within an organizing team within their own neighborhood or community.

Can you tell us a little about the people who've attended these trainings?

There's so much energy it's amazing. People are sharing really moving personal stories about why they got involved, which is a central to the trainings we do.

On thing I’ve noticed at all of my meetings is that there’s been a large number of Republicans. There are so many people who are so hungry for change. It’s probably because of Barack’s ability to resonate across party lines—it’s a message of change, and that’s why we’re getting so much support from all over.

The other interesting thing I’ve noticed is that there’s a real multigenerational aspect to these trainings—not just young people but every generation coming out to work for change.

Can you compare the way thing's are going on this campaign with previous campaign experiences you've had?

I worked for Howard Dean and there was a lot of grassroots energy but no infrastructure to deal with the energy. It was a missed opportunity. That's is in sharp contrast to what we’re doing here. We’re doing very concentrated, rigorous grassroots trainings for folks who are hungry to learn campaign skills and organize not only for this campaign, but to build power in their own communities beyond electoral change.

Camp Obama RECAP / discussion

Bryan Barash — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:49:57 EDT

This weekend me and one hundred and sixty of my fellow Obama supporters were taught the secret to this campaign: us. Barack Obama has, first and foremost, reinvested in our success, in our future. And in turn, we have been taught to be better organizers, better leaders, better supporters, and perhaps, better people.

I cannot stress enough how powerful this training was. I feel empowered. No other campaign has ever done anything like this. Barack is pushing down responsibility, asking us to organize ourselves instead of waiting for instructions from the campaign. We are organizing and creating support in a way that no other campaign has ever attempted. We are drawing more small dollar supporters than any campaign ever has before. We are the future.

More specifics below the fold...

Diary of a Camper

Carey Markoe (SFBO) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:18:16 EDT

When I had first heard about the training session that the Obama for America campaign was offering, I thought it would be the same old training session that you could get at almost any campaign headquarters (you know what I’m talking about, the one where you learn how to phone-bank and canvass). It turns out it wasn’t so, the campaign was well-organized and the list of speakers and lecturers was incredible. Although we did learn how to canvass and phone-bank effectively, we also learned how to organize congressional districts, wards, precincts, etc.

We had speakers ranging from Mike Kruglik, a well-known campaigner within the organizing community, to Jocelyn Woodward, the director of the Camp Obama project and Women for Obama, and Pastor Michael Pfleger, an activist in southern Chicago. Other speakers included members of the Obama for America communications and policy team; Jon Carson, Illinois State Director of Obama for America; a local organizer Dino Martino; and SFBO's very own deputy director, Tobin Van Ostern.

When Pfleger spoke, he motivated and inspired the captivated crowd. During his passionate address, the room was filled with enthusiastic nods and people yelling “amen.” He talked about Senator Obama’s vision of hope, compared to the typical, empty-promise candidates. He also told us that as members of Obama's campaign for change we are effectively altering the way politics is practiced in our country.

After the first day, we took a tour of the national headquarters. We were lead by a member of the National Field Operations team, Stephen Brokaw, and I must admit the office was exceptionally impressive. Seeing all of the different branches at work was a remarkable experience for me. We met people from the Youth Vote team, the Policy Department, and the Communications team. It was incredible to realize that we were now apart of this historic presidential campaign and movement for changing our country.

The next day, Kruglik impressed upon us methods he knew for how to effectively organize a community. And having worked with Senator Obama, he was also a good first-person source of information about Obama's history as a community organizer. Kruglik is all about fighting for the people that live in the south-side of Chicago and teaching them to find their power and find their voice. He was even able to elicit passionate personal stories from camp attendees about why they support Senator Obama:

We heard tear-jerking stories from several of the campers. One story that helped paint a picture of the importance of this campaign was when a woman was called on to vocalize issues important to her. She specifically said “health care,” and Kruglik asked, “and why is this important to you?” She replied, “because I’m one of the millions of Americans who is uninsured.”

Another emotional story was that of a high schooler – we had taken time out of the session to interview each other for our personal stories -- and his interviewer went up to tell why his issue, again, health care, was important to him. She said, “his story is special. Why? Because every person in his family is uninsured.” This included his younger sister who has a serious medical condition. He realizes that when he gets to college in a year, he will be able to obtain health care, but he is incredibly concerned about his little sister.

At the close of camp, each attendee had gained new knowledge about the art of campaigning, but more importantly we forged unbreakable bonds with fellow Obama supporters. We saw up close the power of this campaign. And we walked away fired up to elect Senator Obama.

Camp Obama in Chicago - I hope!

Jim Lyons — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 21:36:37 EDT

I jsut re-signed up for Camp Obama. I was so busy recently with my job recently coupled with a film project, that I neglected to return a call from Camp Obama for the New York City camp.

Dang it!

All is not lost, however. I asked my wife could I go to Chicago at the end of September for Camp Obama, and she said "why not?" Gotta love that lady!

Now all I have to do is pass the pre-interview and get a plane ticket and a hotel for a couple of nights. Piece of cake.

I am a little concerned that I might miss this training session. I will call back the person from the NYC Camp Obama and see if they can talk to me about the Chicago September CO.

I will HOPE for the best,

In Peace,

Jim Lyons

BTW - who read the GQ article on Senator Obama?

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5841

Obama looked pretty sharp on the cover - I might start wearing suits again.....umm maybe not, I don't think a suit will help me.

B-)

CAMP OBAMA LIVEBLOG: Please Join Me

Bryan Barash — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:18:11 EDT

I will be liveblogging at dailykos.com about Camp Obama all weekend. If you are a member of dailykos, please join the discussion and help me let people know what's going on and what we're learning. If you're not yet a member, I encourage you to go to www.dailykos.com and sign up. Depending on how much free time we have during the day, I plan on updating it several times throughout the day and doing a recap at night after the event.

If you want to find my blog, my username over there is turnnoblindeye, it can be found here.

Please, help me by posting comments there. I don't want to be the only one giving opinions about what the camp is about, I think everyone reading would like more than one view. I know there are many people on that site who wanted to come but could not make it, so this will be a great way to help them catch up on what they missed.

Camp Obama Chicago, Day 1 PM

Saoirse — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:41:02 EDT

Just got back from a tour of headquarters. Talked to our support guy, Gabe. Hailed a cab, for the first time ever in my life. Shocking, eh? As we toured HQ, we (members of Camp Obama) were applauded roundly by the workers.

So many presentations today. How to write a press release, how policy statements are created, how to canvass and how to target a canvass for maximum effect, how to transform from a volunteer to an ORGANIZER ... and how to be a comm'ty organizer. This was the most important part to me. One speaker said that it's so important to remember that when we canvass, when we talk to people about Obama, we are not selling Obama, we are striving to be LIKE Obama ... to listen, listen , listen ... seek to understand the self-interest of the speaker and to be the agitator that motivates them to DO something. Like get off the couch and out the door to caucus. :)

I have homework tonight ... reading and researching. I am tired as well ... need to get to bed early tonight. I am taking prodigious notes ... will sort them out and try to have them ready for our group asap. Lots and lots of GREAT informaiton.

Camp Obama Chicago, Day 1 AM

Saoirse — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:34:17 EDT

it feels like there's something on my skin, but I think it's just the humidity. Traffic noise all night. Lots and lots of pain in my heel, from walking through airports no doubt. I am almost crippled this morning, and know that it will be very painful just walking three blocks to the training.

But today, I get to experience Camp Obama. I'm ready. Bring it on.

I can't imagine that I could get more inspired. I get loads and loads of email everyday from various Obama listservs ... probably over 100 emails a day. And I have half a dozen email addresses ... fortunately, I have my .Mac account set up so that all emails are forwarded to one server. Thank goodness ... what would I do if I had to check multiple accounts?! Technology ... a boon and a burden, all at once.

Anyway, I read articles everyday that inspire me about Obama. And today, it even seems like the media is finally turning a corner in how they report him. Maybe even checking for what he actually said, checking what others have said in the past. I've also been coming to a deeper understanding of the campaign Hillary Clinton is waging. She is very determined and very disciplined. it's unlkely that she will stray from her very focussed plan. She performs well in the public forum.

I have also been developing a deeper apprecaition for Obama's shrewness as a politician. And his perspective on "Why now?" It's definitely a horse race, and probably will be until Super Tuesday. Then, I think, it will be clear ...

So, in Colorado, we have 5 months to rally our voters, to get people activated and aware of the caucus process and to actually turn out. Wouldn't it be great for our state if we defied all prior predictions of a "good" turnout for the caucuses? Wouldn't it be great for our neighborhoods if the designated precinct locations were too small to hold all the people coming out to exercise their civic right? If people were so engaged that they offered rides to one another, were determied to make a difference ... because they believed they could?!

You know, the voters in Iowa believe that they do make a difference in shaping our future. They study the candidates, ask the hard questions, and face the hard questions. They use their voices to assert their real influence in a major decision. They take it all very seriously.

Now, I think this could be incredibly energizing, maybe not so serious/somber. I'd love to see neighbors chatting with one another, waving and smiling, and shaking hands with one another even if they cast their votes for different candidates. An engaged citizenry ... wouldn't that be something? REAL change ... people with a voice and a belief that they will be heard, that they do make a difference, that it's worth the time and effort to show up.

I'll write more later. Camp Obama, Day 1 and counting ...

report from camp obama

ashley — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:59:30 EDT

hi everyone! :D i'm from springfield, missouri and i attended camp obama in st. louis this past weekend. it was great fun. i met about 60 really amazing folks over the three days and we all sweated together (literally and figuratively) to learn all about how to make obama 2008 a success! we learned the best ways to canvass door-to-door and do phone banks, all about barack's policies on a number of different issues, voter registration tips and event ideas, and about all the groups that are forming all over the country. what i took away from the camp was really this: every single person is going to be needed to stand up. if you are passionate about barack, we need you to volunteer your time, if only an hour. i like to look at it this way: i'm poor. i'm a college student. i've never donated to a campaign before, and i hope to be able to sometime soon, but though i'm not able right now, what i can do is donate time. if you take a four-hour shift canvassing, that's like donating $20 to the campaign - right? plus, there are a lot of people out there who have no idea who barack obama even is, and many people aren't very informed about him. all it takes, though, is you - talking to your friends, family, your mom's friends, acquaintances, fellow church-goers and club-goers, the cute girl in the elevator, that dude who sits next to you in government... and donating your time and helping out with your local campaign. (there are groups everywhere - go to your next area meeting, or host one!) there's now an <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/actioncenter/">action center on MYBO</a>. this is a great place to begin. we're apparently going to barbecue for barack all across the country on august 25th - sounds like fun to me! the goal is to for each person to find five supporters and bring them. that may sound difficult, but you'll be surprised - people are very receptive to talking about barack! i went out drinking with some friends last night and converted a clinton supporter ;D it also has a <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/resourceguidesyfm/">guide to your first organizing meeting</a>. they're going to update the action center every two weeks; you can stay updated by joining <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/ActionCenterUpdates">this group.</a> i seriously think joining this campaign is being a part of history. let's all stand up.

An Opportunity

Christina — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:31:56 EDT

An Opportunity

As I was writing about my experience at Camp Obama, I had a little mini-epiphany: we have an enormous opportunity not only to get an amazing person in office, but to change the way national politics is handled forever. The electoral college was created because our founding fathers were a little skeptical of the capacities of the average voter to make an informed choice. Part of this was simply a product of slow-moving information, but as a result of this set up, the precident was set for future politicians to rely on the 'fickle' voter only as a last resort. That doctrine has guided politicians' campaign tactics all the way to the last election, and who can blame them? Howard Dean put his faith in his supporters, and his campaign fell apart at the last moment in Iowa. Before that, volunteers weren't even considered important enough to do anything but grunt work that was carefully laid out for them-- the fickle voter just wasn't smart enough to figure out how to help run a campaign.

That's all changed. Obama for America has given the American voter a small but monumentally important opportunity to assert their right to truly be involved in and considered during a campaign. I am a firm believer that you should choose the candidate who is right for you, but consider this for a moment: What message would be sent to our political leaders if a campaign that relied on intelligent, well-informed, and well-organized grassroots efforts actually secured the White House? Isn't that what politics should be about? Shouldn't America be run by political leaders that are lifted up by Americans of all walks of life instead of propelled by special interests? If you are unsure of who you are voting for, go to barackobama.com. If you like him as a candidate and want to take this opportunity to create real change, then jump right in and get involved-- your efforts do matter for this campaign and they will matter for future campaigns as well.

To all of the Obama supporters already out there, I can't stress this enough: this campaign has the potential to revolutionize the way politics is run-- but only if you are willing to give it a shot and run it yourself. Obama is behind us...now it's time to get behind a candidate from the people, by the people, and FOR the people. Let's get out there and Barack the Vote!

Obama’s Grassroots Planted to Run Deep

Christina — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:31:10 EDT

Sometimes, the sheer scope, size, and vitality of something can't be seen simply by looking at the surface of it. Take the ice berg that sank the Titanic-- 90% of it was under water. In Georgia, there is a slow-growing pine tree that starts out by first growing deep roots and, after it has found a good water source, it shoots into the sky. For many years, however, it looks like little more than a shrub. Or take Obama's campaign: people are quoting national polls left and right as a reason for why Sen. Clinton will win the primaries. Now, there are several factors that the polls are leaving out-- early states know more about Barack Obama than do late primary states. Obama has been advancing more steadily in the polls in the earlier states than any other candidate-- Iowa is now seen as a key battle ground to sieze the primary vote, where only months earlier Edwards had a commanding lead there. A lot of people who do know about Obama are simply waiting to see how he does in the early states, because, let's face it: we want to be on board for the winning team. Furthermore, Obama has a huge list of people from whom he can continually receive money...the list goes on. I have something a little more profound, though-- Obama has a stronger, more dedicated grassroots organization than Clinton or Edwards. We are not sonly stronger in our convictions, but we are stronger in our knowledge and our basic skill level-- and as Camp Obama goes from state to state, we can only grow stronger.

Here's a little bit about my experience in Camp Obama held in St. Louis, MO. I know for me that when I went, I kind of thought that it would be a feel-good, slightly fluffy meeting of Obama supporters with a little info on how to get involved with the campaign....but this was no rally and there was no time for fluff. There was nothing but enthusiasm in the room, to be sure, but what we learned there, really, wasn't how to get involved with the leaders of Obama for America, but how to lead the grassroots campaign ourselves. I feel like I can say with absolute certainty that I will be able to organize a fundraising house party, get earned media, organize a canvassing event, put together a GOTV event for people who will need to help to get to the polls, and hold several voter registration drives. Not only that, but I will be able to use all of these events to gather valuable information for the campaign. I don't know much about the Hillraisers or the Edward's volunteers or how the training there goes, but I feel like a have been given a huge leg up over the average political volunteer.

I am incredibly grateful for the friendships formed, the connections made, and the lessons learned at Camp Obama. The people of Missouri are nothing short of friendly and I would love to go there to help with their efforts again sometime.

I encourage everyone who can to go to a Camp Obama session. It is a huge committment (I am probably heading to Iowa around Jan 11th.) and a lot of work (12 hours the first day, 8 hours the second day), but the information is so empowering and inspiring. The talk about believing in America isn't empty rhetoric-- they had full faith in the idea that we will be willing to lead more supporters in the drive to get Senator Obama elected as President. I only hope that the faith he has placed in us and the seed of hope and empowerment that was sown in St. Louis will yield a truly successful grassroots campaign.

Newflash: Camping trip

Marc R. Peters — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:47:11 EDT

Camp Obama recently hit St. Louis to bring grassroots politics to the youth of the city. Participants received training in canvassing, media relations, online organizing and phone banking. The training in St. Louis was only the second Camp Obama outside of the Chicago area.

Local officials came by camp and offered words of advice and encouragement. Mary Institute and Country Day student Rachel Simon walked away empowered:

"Senator Obama has inspired me to want to work for the future for a better future than we have now," she said.

Rachel plans to start a new chapter of Students for Barack Obama at her high school.

For news on the camp visit: MyFox

Turn No Blind Eye: New Blog, Camp Obama, Rove Resigns

Bryan Barash — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:30:16 EDT

So, today is a good day. We're all happy with the news that Karl Rove has resigned. Maybe this means the administration will start coming towards something like... hm... reality? I won't hold my breath. Not as long as Cheney is still hanging around.

My name is Bryan Barash. I know a lot of people don't like to give their real name online, but I don't mind it. I'm from Long Island, NY, and this is my first blog posting here on my.barackobama.com. I'm a regular visitor / contributor to DailyKos.com, so I'm familiar with the blog format, this is just my first time here.

...more below the jump.

Camp Obama

Tanmack — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:04:47 EDT

We are on the brink of elevating the campaign activity for Barack Obama in Tennessee. After some thought, I have committed to attend Camp Obama in Atlanta, Georgia, to receive training on building an active voters network here and supporting voting efforts in key southern states. Are you able to commit as well?

Camp Obama comes to Boise, ID!

TJ Thomson for Boise City Council — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:39:15 EDT

The Official Barack Obama campaign is holding camp to train Idaho volunteers for Obama.

Sen. Barack Obama's Campaign is holding CAMP OBAMA in Boise, ID
BOISE, ID - Aug. 18-19, 2007, Location: IBEW LABOR HALL, 225 N 16th St., Suite 110, Boise, ID

Event Time:
8am-8pm, Saturday, Aug. 18
8am-6pm, Sunday, Aug. 19
* Volunteers must attend both days.

For Obama volunteers ready to take their commitment to Barack Obama's campaign to the next level, the successful Camp Obama program is going on the road, and will be in Boise, Idaho, August 18 - 19. They welcome all levels of experience. The only thing they ask is that you are committed to the Obama campaign and are ready to roll up your sleeves and work. No other Presidential candidates are investing this type of training into Idaho volunteers!

To become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country -- apply now to join Camp Obama:

http://my.barackobama.com/CampObamaWest

This FREE two-day session is designed for supporters who want a more in-depth volunteer role in the campaign. After completing the training, each participant will be required to make a commitment to volunteer in Nevada, the West's first primary state. Please plan to attend the full training and submit your application by 12:00 a.m.
(midnight) MST on Saturday, August 11th.

* Get the inside scoop on Obama's campaign strategy in the West
* Learn how to build grassroots support in your community
* Explore internship opportunities in the early primary and caucus states

Apply now:

http://my.barackobama.com/CampObamaWest

Once you complete the application, the campaign will call you for a brief phone interview to discuss your interest in the camp.

Camp Obama comes to Boise, ID!

TJ Thomson for Boise City Council — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:38:00 EDT

What a grassroots campaign looks like

Sam Graham-Felsen — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:05:40 EDT

This week, I sat down with Buffy Wicks, our Western Field Organizer, to talk about the innovative field program she's running. I asked her a few questions about the Camp Obama grassroots organizing training she recently ran in California.

Why did you do this training? Why now?

There’s an enormous amount of grassroots energy in California. For example, we had 146 individual canvasses in California on the Walk for Change, and five of them had over 100 people. Our activists are ready to dedicate their time and are eager to be trained in community and field organizing tactics, and this was an opportunity to do that.

What was the turnout like?

We had 160 people who spent 3 full days—34 hours of curriculum-- training. People came from all over Southern California.

Who was involved in the trainings?

We had trainers from across the country. These community organizers include people from environmental organizations, faith-based groups, labor, and traditional Democratic organizations. Marshall Ganz, a legendary civil rights and labor organizer, who once worked with Cesar Chavez, and currently teaches at Harvard, helped spearhead the training curriculum and led trainings as well.

What was unique about the trainings?

It was a marriage between community organizing and traditional organizing tactics, which is rare in campaigns. Community organizing is more of a long-term investment. We took some of the community organizing tactics—like relationship building and the ability to find common interest in people, and want to employ them within this campaign. It fits so clearly with Barack Obama’s grassroots community vision.

There’s a big emphasis placed on being able to understand and articulate your own story. Where are you coming from? What are the challenges facing your community, and why have you been called to join this movement for change?

We also taught fundamental field campaign skills, such as how to do voter contacts, canvassing, phone banks, online organizing, earned media, and database management.

Campaigns have a tendency to come into communities, mobilize people during an election cycle, and then pack up and leave. How is this different?

This training is about building local leaders in the communities and fostering long-term relationships to support our common values. We split people up into teams based on their congressional districts and they worked in these teams from the moment they showed up to the moment they left. We created, in a way, mini-campaigns with these groups—self-sufficient, interdependent teams that take responsibility for all aspects of a campaign within their congressional district.

We want to win this election, but we also want keep winning elections for generations to come, and if we invest now, we can continue to reap the rewards. We also want people to continue to be active beyond elections, to use their networks to create change in their own communities. For example, if they want to clean up a local park or river, they will have these very strong, preexistent networks to create change.

Barack is a community organizer and for him, change is about making local communities strong and ensuring that every single person in every community has access to resources and the ability to organize. This is a vehicle for that.

What’s next?

The goal of these teams is to continue to multiply and replicate. For August, their goal is to recruit volunteers. We already got almost three hundred people signed up next weekend for volunteer recruitment meetings. Each team will go out in their communities with the goal of creating more teams.

I’m going to replicate these trainings in Phoenix, the Bay Area, Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Denver, Albuquerque, and Anchorage to continue these trainings.

For info on how to get involved with Camp Obama West, click here.

Camp Obama - Wow!

Laura Lee-Chin — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:19:03 EDT

Dear Friends and Fellow Volunteers,

I had an incredible weekend at Camp Obama...

Weekend at Camp Obama..WOW!

Leeza — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 01:24:43 EDT

I just finished the 3 day Camp Obama in Burbank! What an incredible, inspiring and uplifting experience! Imagine spending 12 hours a day for 3 days with 200 like-minded people that have volunteered their time ,energy and considerable talent toward activating the change that we are all hungry for.... This campaign is definetly about us! Obama headquarters furnished us with some very gifted trainers and they gave us the tools and structure to organise ourselves, but they never let us forget that it's OUR CAMPAIGN.There will be another Camp Obama in Northern CA (SF) location TBA. The dates will be around the 11 and 12th of Aug I believe.I strongly urge you to sign up and attend this event. It will be an experience you will never forget and the training you will receive will be invaluable .Aug. 7th is our next Obama Santa Cruz meeting at the Bittersweet Bistro in Aptos (7:30 pm)Obama HQ has given us the task of organising the 17th district. We have 25 weeks to contact 40,000 voters. We will need at least 200 volunteers with 3 to 5 hours to give each week till then to achieve our goals.We can do it! PLEASE COME TO THIS MEETING! PLEASE BRING AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN! OUR FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS and the time to get involved is NOW!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:46:03 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Attendees will learn more about the campaign's vision for America and how best to get organized. After the training you will be asked to support campaign efforts in South Carolina, as well as build up grassroots efforts in your home state.

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:38:54 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:16:16 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:03:28 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:50:31 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:39:04 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:27:09 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:15:55 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Camp Obama Training in Atlanta, Georgia

Trista, Southern Field Director — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:57:14 EDT

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."
~Senator Barack Obama~

Are you tired of politics as usual in Washington DC today?

Are you ready to make a change to bring back America's great reputation in the world?

Then become a part of the national grassroots movement that's changing our politics and transforming our country--Join CAMP OBAMA!

Dan Rather on Camp Obama

Sam Graham-Felsen — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:37:58 EDT

Dan Rather Reports on HDNet features a great story on Camp Obama and how young people are getting involved in the campaign. The section on Camp Obama starts 44:00 into the episode.

Dan Rather Reports, pt. 2

Jason Zimmerman — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:33:56 EDT

If you have ever doubted that what you were doing for Students for Barack Obama wasn't important, or even acknowledged, watch this clip below from Dan Rather Reports. Your contributions are not only appreciated within the campaign, they are being noticed and applauded by outside observers.
This 10 minute segment focuses on the Obama campaign's successful outreach to the youth of America. The report highlights how Camp Obama is run, what are the goals of the Camp and the goals for Students for Barack Obama. Interviewed in the segment are Jocelyn Woodards, the director of Camp Obama, Mary Hodge, Deputy Youth Vote Director, Sean Eldridge and Tobin Van Ostern of Students for Barack Obama, as well as individuals who have participated in the Camp.

The relevant information starts around 44 minutes into the clip:
Dan Rather Reports

Some of the highlights of the video:
"Youth vote has been an after thought to most campaigns in modern American politics because young people haven't turned out to vote in big numbers. But the Obama campaign is trying to change that."

"Every campaign I've ever been on they say they take us seriously, but really they just take us seriously that they want us to bring volunteers and stuff envelopes. This[campaign], we are targeting different college campuses, we are building lists, [and] we are expecting these students to come out and vote."

"Everyone's gonna come out with a health care plan; everyone's gonna try to get us out of Iraq, but the question is who's going to invest the political capital to get it done. Who's going to be able to go into the white house and really push congress and push Congress and pus the American people to make tough decisions, and I think we trust that Obama does."

Camp Obama on HD Net

Jason Zimmerman — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:54:30 EDT

Tonight on Dan Rather Reports, Mr. Rather will be discussing the revolutionary way of campaigning that Barack Obama has engaged in during the course of his candidacy. Obama has managed to run a successful fund-raising effort despite not taking large sums of money from PAC’s and Lobbyists that typically make up a good portion of a candidate’s war chest. Tonight on HD Net, Dan Rather is asking “How?”

I don’t want to give away too much of the show, but the basic premise on how Obama has managed to run what Barack himself said was, “the largest grassroots campaign in history for this stage of the Presidential race” is you. You all did it. Not the big businesses. Not the Political Action Committees. It is individuals just like you and me that have become the heart and soul of this campaign.

Whether it is participating in the Walk for Change, donating whatever spare change you have, or even attending Camp Obama, which is another fantastic opportunity that the Obama campaign is providing for people, it’s the focus on the individual American that is making this campaign run.

Dan Rather is going to report that Barack Obama is raising more money than any presidential candidate. He’s going to examine where, and how Obama got the money. He’s going to look at the fund-raising techniques. Rather’s even going to look at Camp Obama and its impact on the campaign. Yet, all the questions Rather will ask, the answer will always be the same:

It’s the over 258,000 people who have already declared that they are ready for change. More than a quarter of a million Americans (and the number is growing daily), have decided this campaign, this candidate, is the one for America.

I urge you all to watch Dan Rather Reports tonight at 8 PM on HD Net. With Dan Rather’s typical excellence in journalism, it’s an episode you can’t miss.

The Reinvention Tour of Duty 6/18-6/21

Lauren — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 14:02:19 EDT

What up Party People!!!

Tomorrow I am so ready to work it. I am attending Camp Obama for four days. This is the most exciting thing that has happened to me all year. There is not anything I would rather do than learn about Barack Obama and the presidential campaign. I have so much to learn.

For those of you that don't know me, I am turning 30 this 9/28. It is a huge milestone in my life. I have never pictured myself past 29. As a child, I could not wait to turn 21. Everything that looked truely fun was for people, who were "of age." I lived my twenties just as I envisioned them as a child. My college years were ideal graduating from Florida State University. I traveled to exciting places across the world with my closest friends. I worked an amazing job at Home Shopping Network and met mentors that gave me a lifetime of experience.

Now, I am at the dawn of a new era for myself. I look forward to attending Camp Obama and realizing a new force shaping for myself. My twenties were my greedy years. It was all about me. I can't wait to devote myself to a larger purpose thus far.

NPR: On Going Camping

Marc R. Peters — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:46:34 EDT

Camp Obama isn’t your average camp. Of course, Obama for America isn’t your average campaign. The senator’s campaign for president is also a mechanism for change. And there has been no lack of creativity on the part of the campaign to capitalize on the outpouring of support from young people around the country. NPR describes the camp as follows:

“This camp has no campfire sing-alongs, no marshmallow roasts, no knotty-walled log cabins to sleep in. Instead, campers spend their days inside a drab office building, with walls adorned with maps of the all-important early primary and caucus states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.”

The reaction of attendees has been quite positive:

"Oh, my goodness; I'm sitting around a lot of people that I have so much in common with, especially politically, and I'm just forming bonds ... bonds that I really feel will last a lifetime," says Simone Simpson of Las Vegas, who says the experience takes her back to her youthful days at Camp Cedar Point.

Go to camp, change the country.

Camp Obama Ends

Mark Wiznitzer — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 18:53:32 EDT

The afternoon of June 6 brought us another early colleague of Barack Senator Obama, Jamillah Muhammad. Together, and overcoming her trepidation about working in the projects on Chicago’s South Side, they conducted the voter registration drive that helped to elect Senator Carol Moseley Braun. After her Muhammad’s inspiring talk, we conducted a mock caucus to better understand how such meetings function and differ from primary elections. And on our last day Jocelyn led a discussion of how to GOTV – Get Out The Vote.

During the course of four days, we had an opportunity to meet and hear from important Obama campaign staffers. Field Director Temo Figueroa, Illinois State Director Jon Carson, and NH Director Matt Rodrigues, who happened to pass through town, provided briefings on their activities and strategies.

In the early afternoon of the last day, June 7, we had a “graduation ceremony”. Our guest Speaker was Betsy Myers, Chief Operating Officer of Obama for America (Obama wants the campaign to run like a business) A former Clinton Administration official, she described how she left her last position as Executive Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government when offered the opportunity to work for Obama, which also entailed moving her husband and five-year old child.

For those of you who are not directly involved in the campaign and are less interested in the mechanics than the candidate let me offer a few impressions. Obama retains the loyalty of people who have known and worked closely with him over the past 20 years. He has attracted highly experienced and professional campaign staff. They are all engaged in a venture about which they are enthusiastic. They also assured us that what you see and hear of him is genuine, that Obama is the real deal, an authentic leader, and unlike some other candidates, not the product of lies and spin.

Everyone understands this is a long slog, with its ups and downs. But Obama will try to conduct a positive campaign, reserving the right to respond to negative attacks. There will be lots of time to address “experience” and other red herrings. He will move at his own pace, and the policy positions that are articulated along the way will reflect his philosophy. The rules for fundraising will be followed carefully, even though this generates extra work. The polls can change dramatically right up to the final days. There is no attempt to package Obama, but rather to let him be himself. He is what some call a “post-partisan” politician, and the pundits will have a hard time understanding the implications of this. But the voters want change, and just about everyone who meets Barack Obama knows that he is very unique and represents that change.

Camp Obama – The Training

Mark Wiznitzer — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 18:50:08 EDT

John Kupper, partner with campaign consultant David Axelrod and Campaign Manager David Plouffe in AKP Media, led off the morning of June 5 with a discussion of the Obama for America Message. Subsequently, a campaign deputy director explained the role of Obama’s policy staff, followed by a presentation on New Media and how the internet is utilized, and a presentation by Jackie Kendall of Midwest Academy on the use of more traditional media. We simulated organization of a media “event” and then had canvass training. Those of us with prior canvass experience were asked to help in HQ with the tedious task of checking routes that canvassers would be asked to cover on Saturday. This provided me an opportunity to talk to some of the responsible staff members and seek their guidance on grassroots activities I had previously worked on.

For me personally, the highlight of camp came on day three. The morning session was led by Mike Kruglik, who was one of the people with whom Obama worked when he arrived in Chicago for the first time to take a job as community organizer. Assisted by Paul Scully, an organizer in New Jersey, they explained the techniques of community organization originally popularized by Saul Alinsky (who offered Hillary a job, but she turned it down), and how these might help in winning elections. While Alinsky was considered an agitator who delighted in the opportunity to “rub raw the sores of discontent”, Obama would opt for a less confrontational or doctrinaire approach that proved successful in building relationships that last to this day.

We were asked to find another camper with whom we had not yet had contact and conduct a “one-on-one”, the technique Obama used to learn people’s stories and identify community leaders. This was his open secret to organizing and gaining power. The purpose of the exercise was to uncover our subject’s “self-interest” in joining the campaign, not just the obvious “against the war” or “desire for change”, but rather the personal experiences and relationships that motivate the commitment to work for Barack Obama.

For my one-on-one, I picked out a crew cut young man, Mario, who had not spoken up in two days. Mario had graduated in economics from Berkley. His parents are both professionals, originally from the Philippines, and raised him in a comfortable southern California community. After 9/11, Mario joined the ROTC and following his graduation went to Iraq with the Army, where he spent 2006 training Iraqi military in his specialty, targeting. He began our conversation by telling me he could relate to a comment I had made during an earlier group discussion that many of my acquaintances were motivated by idealism, like those who had joined the Peace Corps inspired by John Kennedy. Perhaps because Mario and I are first generation Americans born of immigrant parents, we are less rooted to local communities and therefore identify more strongly with the ideals of America.

In reviewing our one-on-one experience, I had the chance to inform everyone that this silent member of our camp was in fact an Iraq veteran, a hero in our midst. The college kids absorbed the news in silence. As far as Mario’s self-interest, I suggested that he was seeking validation for his decision to join the military and his service in Iraq. Perhaps Obama’s plan for getting out of Iraq, which includes training the Iraqi army, and his calls for Americans to treat returning troops with dignity and ensure they get the services they need, Mario finds validation and comfort.

We heard a number of personal stories that day, of urban youth turned on by politics, privileged white kids concerned about the lack of diversity in their communities and the disparities in our society, of children of mixed race for whom Obama represents their desire to find their place in America.

Perhaps the most gripping of the many moving stories we heard this day was that of Thione (who is a future MacArthur Foundation grant candidate, if I ever met one). Born in the Cameroon, he was the 12th of 28 children in his family. He eloquently related his story of growing up in poverty, how he absorbed his father’s admonition that the way to get ahead was through education, and how he has lived a life driven from an early age to providing a better life for his mother. His stellar academic path took him to Europe and then to the US, where he now resides in Cleveland. Among his many activities is organizing, with grants from various organizations and foundations, the travel of young Americans to experience Africa first hand. For those of us who read Obama’s autobiographical “Dreams From My Father”, Thione’s story resonated with similar introspection and inspiration.

June 4 Camp Obama – First Impressions

Mark Wiznitzer — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 18:47:48 EDT

There was no hesitation when www.barackobama.com posted an announcement that a Camp Obama would be launched to train interns and volunteers. My application went in the same day. Later, the thought occurred to me that I could be the oldest -- I am 57 -- in the camp, and what would that be like? In a phone interview with Alex, a staffer who screened applicants, he explored this issue, asking if I wouldn’t prefer to attend a yet to be scheduled two-day program in the works. I was not too worried though, since my college-age daughter and son in high school had done a good job over the years of keeping me young and connected to popular culture. I hoped camp would answer the question of what else I could do to help my candidate. My interests were to learn modern campaigning skills and network with people who sought the same objective. Three weeks before the June 4 Camp Obama convened in Chicago I received an invitation that I immediately accepted.

Making my arrangements for travel and accommodations for three nights in Chicago, I wondered how all those college kids could attend, since we all had to pay our own way. It was with some trepidation that I entered the classroom on an upper floor of a Chicago office building late that Monday morning. There I was welcomed by Camp Director Jocelyn Woodards, a onetime organizer who had worked in Chicago with Obama and in Washington for VP Gore. A woman with a ready smile and tightly braided hair, her eyes revealed a joie de vivre and curiosity about what motivated me to come to camp.

Looking around from my back row seat I counted fifty “campers”. There was another older man in the front row. (By the end of the day I would get to know Robert well. An African-American from Detroit, he went into telecommunications after tours in the US Navy, and now works for AT&T with GM as his customer. Mitchell was a Republican swept up in the Reagan Revolution. A 20-year member of the National Republican Committee, we shared a concern about national security under Bush, and he had decided to join Republicans for Obama. For the rest, the campers ranged from high school teens to the twenties, with only a couple who were in their 30’s or 40’s. It was a racially mixed group of men and women. Many if not most were from Illinois, but we ranged geographically from California to Vermont to Florida. Over the next 3 ½ days, their intelligence, enthusiasm and commitment convinced me that, with their help, Obama could win this election and there was much promise in America’s future.

It was apparent from the first session with Jocelyn that we were in for a well-planned program of instructive lectures and role-playing. Little time would be spent on the issues, since no could put forward his positions better than the candidate himself. We would meet some of the key people of the Obama campaign. Our first substantive session on Campaign Culture was led by Bob Creamer of the Strategic Consulting Group. He provided an information-packed presentation starting with a general theory of campaigns, getting a candidate elected, what makes a great campaign, the targeting of “persuadable” and “mobilizable” voters, application of quantitative approaches, and different forms of messaging and research.

We had a session by campaign staff on finance and fundraising, then “hiked” to Obama headquarters (no campfires or camp songs) to get a tour of the offices. Obama HQ occupies an entire floor in a high-rise building. We passed through a room strewn with papers and filled with some graduates of the two previous camps were assembling packets for a canvas in adjacent Iowa in 5 days. A tour of the entire office was followed by briefings on field activities and campaign operations.

Summer Camp = Changing the World?

Nate de la Piedra [OFA Staff] — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 15:45:39 EDT

The AP reports that the answer at Camp Obama is "Yes".

The article highlights Chris Wyant, a recent graduate of Yale University who quit a financial job to attend Camp Obama and volunteer for our movement for change through November '08.

Camp Obama is not your average summer camp with swimming and smores. Camp Obama is where about 350 volunteers and interns are being trained with the skills to match their enormous passion and empower them to change our world.

But don't look for bonfires or singalongs at this nearly weeklong summer camp. Here, campers are holed up on a sparsely decorated floor of a downtown office building, gathered around folding tables where they learn more about Obama and how to galvanize support for him.

It's a lot of work, but attendees seem more than excited to be there

"Nine o'clock at night you're like, 'Give me the next assignment, like who's the next speaker?' ... It's worth it,"...said Julia Duncan, a 19-year-old from Menlo Park, Calif., who will be a junior at the University of Virginia next semester.

Sound like something you want to be a part of? Check out the blog entry three posts down to see how you can get involved and attend an upcoming session of Camp Obama and get placed in Iowa, Nevada or South Carolina.

Want to Change the World This Summer?

Nate de la Piedra [OFA Staff] — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:35:14 EDT

Hey Guys,

Just got the following message from the Obama campaign that I wanted to pass along. Looking for summer plans? Here's a plan for you; Change the World.

-Nate

Do you want to get more involved with the Obama campaign? We are currently looking to fill unpaid internships for the summer and beyond in Iowa and Nevada, and South Carolina, all very important early primary states. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who is interested in campaigning, pursuing a career in politics, or simply getting more involved in supporting Senator Obama. We need interns from all backgrounds and enthusiasm is more important than experience, so we encourage you to apply if this interests you. Just send your résumé, preference between the three states, and a list of times you would be available for a brief interview to campobama@barackobama.com. We hope to hear from you soon!

The Camp Obama Team

PS: Going on a road trip this summer? Swing by the Obama Store at < store.barackobama.com and pick up a sweet bumper sticker and let the everyone on the interstate know who you support for president in 08. You can also get some spiffy t-shirts.

It's all just started

Tamara Fouche — Thu, 31 May 2007 00:51:45 EDT

I can't believe I'm part of something so BIG. This stuff is major.

It has been so easy for me to give up on America, on our country. I had almost let myself become bitter. I was cynical. I was almost truly convinced that the USA, did not want me to succeed. I'm Black, I'm female, I'm the daughter of Haitian immigrant parents. I don't have a lot, and that's always been true, but some reason I still have hope.

Senator Obama has inspired me. I heard his story as a community organizer and that just spoke my notions of mobilizing the people, getting the people, what they want, what they need. He wants to work for me. He wants me insured. He wants me in school. He wants me to succeed, even when I thought everyone else didn't want me to.

I went out on a limb and applied for Camp Obama. I could be doing other things, but I'm not-- I'm working for a campaign that represents everything that I want to change in America, and has the power to do it. Now I can't imagine myself doing anything else. This is just too important. I can keep complaining about everything I see wrong, I can keep on analyzing everything my Sociology mindset, but nothing is going to change unless we get the right people in office, and I think I've found the right person.

And I almost can't believe it!

I'm excited. More to come.

peace,

Tamara

Camp Obama described in Chicago Tribune news article May 28, 2007.

lionanimal — Mon, 28 May 2007 12:17:07 EDT

Camp Obama has graduated their first class of interns. Camp Obama sounds great!

Camp Obama

Sam Graham-Felsen — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:07:11 EDT

Camp Obama is our four-day training program for volunteers to learn about how a campaign works and how they can become effective organizers in their own communities. Yesterday, our first crop of campers showed up at HQ here in Chicago.

Here's our national Field Director Temo Figueroa explaining the ground game.

And here's our very own Emily Bokar explaining how people can blog, make friends, and organize events on my.BarackObama.com.

Click here for more on Camp Obama. There are still spots available so apply now!

Camp Obama (training at campaign headquarters in Chicago).

lionanimal — Thu, 03 May 2007 19:00:08 EDT

Please consider the following suggestion about "Camp Obama" training at campaign headquarters in Chicago as follows: