Well, I'm changing these to Canvass/Phonebank diaries because I'm starting to phonebank a few nights a week as well. I'm in Ohio and we are all aware that the country is watching us. The polls may not show it yet, but I'm starting to have conversations with people that tell me this state is starting to turn towards Obama.
I canvassed on Saturday to the dreaded "undecided voter" list. It was pouring rain and it actually made canvassing pretty fun. I think that people respected our committment to the campaign more when they saw us out there in a downpour. Here are the results:
8 for Obama
12 Undecided
1 Leaning McCain
5 McCain
The undecided voters are getting easier to talk to since they now have specific questions about our candidate. Many had questions about his tax plan, education plan, and healthcare plan. No one wants to talk about Iraq, Iran, or Russia. Most importantly, no one has brought up Sarah Palin. People in Ohio are stressed out about their lives and they are starting to think about which candidate will really help them. Most of the questions seem like they are looking for reassurance - "Does he really want to give a middle class tax cut?", "Do you think he can get healtcare passed?" It's almost as if they are starting to hear his message and just need to trust it to be true. People don't seem to mind seeing us on their doorstep anymore and it feels as if the community is starting to engage in the election.
The one person who is leaning McCain had just received an email from someone telling him that if he lived in a 3,000 square foot home, Obama would raise his taxes for owning a luxury item. I told him that was not true and asked him if he ever had to supply the square footage of his home on a tax return before. We talked about Obama's tax plan and I told him he would actually receive a cut under the plan. I also told him where to go on the web to find the chart that compares the McCain and Obama plans. He agreed to take a look and seemed willing to keep his mind open. I'm looking forward to following up with him.
It was a good night on the phones calling base democrats - they are all strongly for Obama and properly stressed out about the election. One woman who takes care of her two elderly parents said they had ordered absentee ballots and will make sure they turn them in. They are eager to vote for Obama and want to make sure their voices are heard. Another woman who just had surgery can't come out to volunteer but offered to do some work for the campaign from home. The base is definitely energized.
My favorite call of the night was to a woman who had just made up her mind to vote Obama. She said "I've learned about his background and I know he gets what the middle class is going through right now - He cares about us. I trust him." She only made up her mind to vote for him recently so it looks like his message reached her.
It's been a lot of work so far, but I think things are going well in Ohio. I am thankful for this experience - it's changing who I am. I will never be the same after this election and I have Barack Obama to thank for that.