First of all, this diary has a somewhat darker tone then my last one, and it's a bit more personal; a mea culpa more then anything. However, bear with me through the personal stuff; there's good news at the end.
As with last Sunday, I showed up bright and early at the Ohio Union building, ready for a sunny afternoon of canvassing. Unfortunately, upon arrival, I noticed very few people other people had showed up. I queried my partner from last week, but she was canvassing for another organization. I went out reluctantly with a new partner, and we started work...but as soon as the new partner got on site, she had to leave due to other committments. And I was alone.
I had a decision to make -- keep canvassing solo, or come back and wait for a partner? It was a no-brainer for me. I draw alot -- probably too much -- courage from having a partner, someone to watch a house or two at the beginning, to check in with, to encourage and be encouraged by. Alone, my courage simply failed, and I went back. It soon became obvious that nobody else would show up to partner with me, so I handed in my clipboard.
Total for the day: zero.
The one good thing is that I paid a little penance; I went back to Kilroy headquarters and finally managed to get some data entry done in my short remaining time. Got about 300 entries done in a couple of hours. Not as good as the canvassing, but it was positive progress for the Kilroy campaign, and I'm a whiz at data entry.
It was still a sad end to a sad day for me. I'm not sure how off base I was not being willing to canvass alone; I do know they were disappointed that I could not. I guess I am not the best campaign volunteer, but the one thing in my defense is that I got something done.
In more general news, the Kilroy campaign seems to be doing very well. Though few locals showed up to the canvassing efforts, we got vanloads of volunteers from Akron and Kent State, and their canvassing work apparently was quite successful; I heard a few groups come in with 15-20 new votes each. I also chatted with the canvassing staffer and found that the Foley scandal is busily making abundant heads explode at the Pryce campaign. Still, I've yet to see a poll showing Pryce behind; the day I do, that will be a watershed moment for all us Kilroy volunteers.