stories from the trail
I went out canvassing today, my first time hitting the streets since 2006 and the Quest To Unseat Santorum. In 2002, 2004, and 2006, I was working with my now-defunct union, and got sent to some of Philly's worst areas - Germantown, Kensington, and so on. I was not always terribly well-received in these areas, and particularly in 2004, the support for Kerry was lukewarm at best. Today I showed up at the neighborhood Obama office, and was greeted by one of my former students, which was really cool. We started talking, and she told me how she's working for justice in NYC, having decided not to "sell her soul" like so many of her classmates. She then started talking about the class we had after Black Tuesday in 2004, and recalled for me vividly how I had been so forlorn that I was unable to conduct the whole class. "That's not going to happen this year," she told me. Enthusiasm and morale were high there, from the volunteers to the paid staff, it feels like a winning operation.
They sent me with a group of two women to 45th Street south of Woodland, a pretty tough neighborhood, although I've definitely seen worse. Let me tell you, it was nothing like 2004, or even 2006. Folks were happy to see me, and I got 100% pro-Obama responses from the people I talked to. I walked around in the sunshine, and signed up some volunteers, had a grand old time, really. But I can't stress enough, it just feels different this year. The African-American voters I spoke with today are just super-jazzed to cast their vote for Obama, and nothing -- nothing -- is going to keep them away from the polls. Any models assuming 2004-level turnout (I'm looking at you, Zogby) are just batshit-crazy out of their mind.
That said, nothing is in the bag. The latest Ras poll out of PA has Obama up by 4 points. 4 points. So get out there and knock on some doors, it's a fucking good time. Let's change the world on Tuesday, shall we?
They sent me with a group of two women to 45th Street south of Woodland, a pretty tough neighborhood, although I've definitely seen worse. Let me tell you, it was nothing like 2004, or even 2006. Folks were happy to see me, and I got 100% pro-Obama responses from the people I talked to. I walked around in the sunshine, and signed up some volunteers, had a grand old time, really. But I can't stress enough, it just feels different this year. The African-American voters I spoke with today are just super-jazzed to cast their vote for Obama, and nothing -- nothing -- is going to keep them away from the polls. Any models assuming 2004-level turnout (I'm looking at you, Zogby) are just batshit-crazy out of their mind.
That said, nothing is in the bag. The latest Ras poll out of PA has Obama up by 4 points. 4 points. So get out there and knock on some doors, it's a fucking good time. Let's change the world on Tuesday, shall we?