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After spending the past 4 days canvasing and working events at least 12 hours per day, I'm exhausted like all the other volunteers out there. So, I'd better put some thoughts together before my brain turns to mush and drains out my ears. Here's my first-time volunteer perspective on GOTV and the results.
On the 7th day to the primary my candidate gave to me
A SEVEN point margin of victory in Iowa,
SIX degrees on my thermometer,
five days to comment on legislation,
four hundred thousand volunteers,
three members of his family,
two cultural backgrounds,
and one outstanding orator!
I don't think much more needs to be said about Iowa other than that the turnout was phenomenal. The numbers I heard on MSNBC were that turnout was 84% higher than 2004, and twice that of the Republican side. Both women and 17-21-year-olds went strongly for Obama.
But it's no time for back-slapping based on what our compatriots in Iowa have achieved. It's time to roll up our sleeves and get out the vote to continue this momentum here in New Hampshire.
On the sixth day to the primary my candidate gave to me,
SIX degrees on my thermometer,
five days to comment on legislation,
four hundred thousand volunteers,
three members of his family,
two cultural backgrounds,
and one outstanding orator!
The tag for today could also have been "6% typical turnout for the Iowa caucus" but that didn't easily trip off the tongue. As you surf the web today it's likely you'll come across one of the 335,000 hits on the phrase "Iowa turnout." OK, that makes it 335,001. The point is that the Iowa caucus is January 3, and all the pundits are placing their bets as to who will be helped or hurt by the weather, the demographics of their base, or yes even the Orange Bowl college football game.
On the fifth day to the primary my candidate gave to me,
FIVE days to comment on legislation,
four hundred thousand volunteers,
three members of his family,
two cultural backgrounds,
and one outstanding orator!
One of Barack Obama's issues that resonates most with people like me is his determination to change the political culture of Washington through ethics reform and open government. There are only two candidates who make this issue a major part of their campaigns, perhaps because most of the others have been in Washington long enough to know that they are tainted by the culture of lobbying, closed door deals, an legislation determined by the flow of money down the Potomac.
While I give props to John Edwards for also pushing this issue with passion, it will come as no surprise that I think Barack Obama has proposed the best plans to reform government and demonstrated the strongest track record by far on ethics reform for the past decade.
On the fourth day to the primary my candidate gave to me
FOUR hundred thousand volunteers,
three members of his family,
two cultural backgrounds,
and one outstanding orator!
Barack Obama often talks about bringing people together to tackle the issues that face our nation. It's more than talk, though, because he already has brought people together on a scale never before seen in American politics. Whether he is breaking all kinds of records for individual donors to his campaign, energizing hundreds of thousands of volunteers -- many of them first-timers to the national political process -- or serving as CEO of a well-run campaign organization, Senator Obama has demonstrated an impressive ability to lead a diverse set of people toward a common goal.
Clearly, Barack Obama provides the kind of leadership we need to break out of partisan gridlock and really take on the issues that have been festering through two decades of cynicism and divisiveness.
I was in the process of writing a letter to the editor today, and noticed that the Manchester Union Leader has come out with their endorsement for the Democratic primary.
Or rather, in this season of anti-endorsements and other headline-grabbing moves by newspapers, the Union Leader has come up with a move of their own -- telling people to write in John McCain.
I don't know that many voters in the Democratic primary pay much heed to the opinions of Joe McQuaid anyway, and I have to think 99% of undeclared voters have at least chosen which primary they'll vote in by now. But it's amusing at any rate.
On the third day to the primary my candidate gave to me, three members of his family,
two cultural backgrounds,
and one outstanding orator!
It's important to remember that we are voting not for a packet of position papers, nor a bunch of plans posted on web pages, nor even for a resume of accomplishments, but for an individual. The character and qualities of that person will affect their ability to get anything done as leader of this country, and a major part of that character can be divined through the candidate's spouse and family.
One of the pleasures of being a New Hampshire voter is that I've had the opportunity to meet Barack Obama several times, and beyond that to meet his wife and kids in person at both formal and very informal campaign events. This family is a source of strength, of guiding priorities, and of grounding in reality for Senator Obama.
On the second day of the primary Obama gave to me, two cultural backgrounds
and an outstanding orator!
Barack Obama's mixed racial/cultural background has received more coverage than the parentage of any candidate in recent memory. Everybody has heard about his Kenyan father and Kansan mother, his childhood years in Indonesia and high school career in Hawaii.
And, when I say that his background has been covered more than any other candidate, I'm not using hyperbole. Sure, you've heard about Mitt Romney's dad -- but do you know anything about his mother? Was there any discussion about Hillary's mom before she was dragged into those recent commercials? Anybody got the 411 on Rudy's parents? I didn't think so.
Part of this is obviously due to the skin color issue, but it also serves to demonstrate a unique strength that Barack Obama brings to this race: first-hand cultural awareness, insight, and sensitivity.
Yes, the New Hampshire Primary will be in the books 12 days from now. In a stunningly trite and unoriginal move, I'm going to count down, or rather count up, the last 12 days of the Granite State phase of the campaign in a manner akin to the classic Christmas song. So, here's the first verse.
On the first day to the primary, Obama gave to me, an outstanding orator.
As an example, here is Senator Obama's speech from Des Moines yesterday.
The 20 minutes it takes to watch that speech will be well spent, I assure you.
I'm participating in a program called Leadership New Hampshire in which we spend a couple of days each month delving into topics relevant to life in the Granite State. Last month's topic was Health Care, so we spent the day up at Dartmouth Hitchcock in Lebanon to learn, think, and talk about this deep and complicated subject. One day is not nearly enough to cover the breadth and depth of health care, but it was enough to make me realize how much needs to be done.
The biggest issue, which is very relevant to the primary campaign, is that of health care costs. All of the major candidates have health care plans, and most of those try to address costs by a combination of electronic medical records, focus on prevention and chronic diseases, and so on. The fact is, however, that none of these are the major drivers of health care inflation.
Just a brief "Heya!" as I'm down here in North Carolina for a few days, surprising my mom for her 70th birthday. The surprise was a success, but I can't shake this weird feeling that I'm practically in a different country down here.
There are no yard signs.
There are no ads on the TV for any candidates.
I wear an Obama '08 shirt and nobody gives it a second look (pro or con).
The biggest political story in the papers is that the former 4-term sheriff was just indicted on federal charges from extortion to mail fraud.
It's a pretty stark reminder of how special it is to live in New Hampshire and be able to get so involved in this part of our democracy. It's also a reminder that, like a political Brigadoon, we will fade into the mists for another 4 years on January 9.
Let's enjoy it while we can, and make sure we all get as many people as possible to participate in this historic election!
Perry Kucinich, brother of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, was found dead Wednesday morning at his east-side home.
Perry Kucinich was found face down by another brother, Larry Kucinich, at about 9 a.m.
Larry Kucinich had taken his brother shopping Tuesday and then took him home but couldn't get an answer when he tried calling him Wednesday, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for the coroner.
The county coroner said that an autopsy is set to be performed to determine the exact cause of death.
There were no signs of foul play.
Rep. Kucinich, who represents the 10th Congressional District, is in Washington, D.C., and his spokesman said he is on his way home to Cleveland.
There are seven children in the Kucinich family.
There are times that transcend any partisanship or competition in the political horse race, and this is one of them. I want to offer my deepest condolences to Rep. Kucinich and his family.
ABC News/Washington Post have Obama continuing to lead in Iowa. Turnout will of course be crucial, and the poll is within the margin of error.
CNN/WMUR have Clinton regaining much of her previous lead in New Hampshire.
Rasmussen has South Carolina in a dead heat, but hasn't yet updated their week-old numbers for Iowa and New Hampshire.
I'd guess there is maybe one more polling cycle before the Iowa caucus on January 3, and that the caucus results will have a significant ripple effect in New Hampshire.
We all know that polls don't matter (unless you're in the lead) and that endorsements matter (unless they're endorsing you).
And hey, sometimes talking about numbers that swing wildly week to week is more fun than talking issues!
I described in a previous diary how I made the journey from being an undecided voter looking at all the candidates, to being supporting Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. Since that point the journey has gone further as I've been seriously volunteering for a political campaign for the first time in my life.
This isn't exactly the first time I've helped out on a campaign. Back when I was a child, my dad volunteered a bit for James L. Buckley's senate campaign. I recall a day or two spent handing out literature during that effort. Not the most fulfilling or interesting work I've ever done, but the fact that I remember it speaks volumes about how important it is to involve your kids in the things that are important to you.
More recently, I spent exactly one lunch hour making phone calls on behalf of Wes Clark in 2004. Finally, I put in a bit more time for Carol Shea-Porter, making phone calls and writing post cards for a total of maybe 4 hours.
But this campaign is different. I decided early on to commit myself to this candidate, and to become more personally invested in this campaign than I have in any previous election cycle. Once I decided to back Barack, the focus of my work has been more about the campaign than the candidate, and it's interesting to reflect on that shift as we approach the final 3 weeks of the New Hampshire primary season.
Remember, I'm coming at this as a newbie. Some of the things I'll write will likely have you saying, "well, duh!" Others may bring to mind memories of the first time you were involved in a campaign. Whatever reaction you have, this is my personal experience. It's also kind of stream of consciousness.
I've been deeply under the weather (both figuratively and literally) for the past couple of weeks, which explains the less than daily updates lately. But, laying around the house popping Augmentin, Mucinex, and Delsym also gives me more time to reflect on the journey that this campaign has been so far.
For example, I recall that I was undecided once, was back in the early days of summer. I started paying attention to the campaign very early, as documented in this blog, but until around March, 2007 I was focused on the process of the New Hampshire primary itself, and not on the candidates. When I did start looking at candidates, I had doubts about all of them -- after all, nobody is perfect and I don't even agree 100% with my own views from week to week. So, choosing a candidate to support was not like flipping a switch, but rather a series of smaller steps over time.
As an Undeclared voter I considered the candidate slates on both sides of the ballot. My final choice to back Barack Obama thus involved eliminating over a dozen candidates. Sometimes this process of elimination was easy based on fundamental policy views or decidedly negative qualities of the particular candidate. Other times it was more difficult, requiring more thought, investigation, and personal time with the candidate in question. But, because I believe in positive campaigning, I want to focus on the early questions I had about Barack Obama, and how I resolved those on the way to becoming a supporter and volunteer.
I'm sure everybody is starting to arrive home after a day of delegate caucusing. I can't think of a more obvious topic for today's diary or blog posts.
But I'm fine with being obvious, because like so many this was my first time participating in a delegate caucus. I was a candidate to be a district level delegate for Barack Obama from the first congressional district. While I did not make the cut, I had a great time, met a bunch of wonderful people, and spent a day participating in authentic government of and by the people.
The Obama campaign saw about 90 people sign up as candidates in each of the two NH districts, which I gather is a record. Our demographics were split fairly evenly among men and women. In the first district we were electing 4 men and 3 women (the reverse was true in the second district), so that meant I had a 1 in 10 shot of winning. Of course, given the proportional allocation of delegates, it's likely that only the first 2 men chosen would actually go to the convention, so it was more like a 1 in 20 chance of being in Denver in August.
The atmosphere was similar to a town meeting without the rancor. It was the people who really wanted to be there, to participate. While competition was an element of the day, it was competition of the most friendly sort. The campaigning was low key via handouts, cookies, and signs. The conversation had the common theme of why we all support Barack Obama, yet the people were all quite different.
It struck me today, as I read the blog post on Carol Shea-Porter's stance on Iran, that one of the more lasting effects of the Bush Administration and Karl Rove's brand of politics is that we have changed the way we talk about issues. That's too bad.
I'd like to point out the mention of Blue Hampshire in this Washington Post article. I like it because it shows a very positive aspect of this community: a well known Clinton supporter standing up for Carol Shea-Porter in the face of criticism after CSP's endorsement of Obama. I think that shows both the individual and the Blue Hampshire community in a good light.
This has been a week of endorsements here in New Hampshire, with Oprah pulling around 8500 people into the Verizon Center and now first district congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter endorsing Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. The question of how much endorsements matter is very much open, particularly in a state where grass roots connections still matter very much. It's interesting to look at the different types of endorsements and the likely effect they will have on the race.
There has been a lot of talk about negative campaigning of late, so I thought I'd put the Democratic race in the larger context. I'm not sure how many readers of Blue Hampshire are aware of it, but the Republican National Committee has a public site at gop.com (it's in their "news" area, I guess) where they keep their attributable opposition research publicly available.
If you haven't see it, and you have a thick skin, this is really funny stuff.
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