Holy crap! I feel just like Marsha Brady that time that Davy Jones agreed to go to the school dance with her.
Today, I was down at one of Obama's Cleveland volunteer offices. I admit I'm a relative latecomer--I did a smattering of phonebanking during the primary, but haven't done much in the general other than the I think important step of signing up to do voter protection. I'm honestly looking forward to hauling myself out of bed at the buttcrack of dawn on election day with a thermos of coffee and staying until the polls close.
SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT: If you are an attorney, and especially an attorney in a so-called battleground state, and you haven't done so already, please consider signing up to do this. It's very clear that the Republicans have shifted into full-on "voter fraud" mode, with the intent of disenfranchising and otherwise bullying democratic voters as much as they can. It may or may not help them in the presidential elections, but it could really cut into the margins and hurt some of our down-ballot candidates if they're successful.
Anyway, so this week I've gone in a couple of times when I don't have work/court going on, to call other lawyers to recruit them for voter protection efforts. Just as I was finishing leaving a message on one of my calls, I could hear a voice over a loud speaker phone in the other room. One of the other callers back where I was said, "Is that Barack?" And people filed into the room.
Sure enough, that's who it was. It was really something. There were a lot of volunteers who clearly had a lot more of their time invested in this than I have, and it was amazing to see their faces. A couple looked like they were fighting back tears. But it was great to hear him, and I wanted to pass along what I heard of his message. He was concerned that people might be looking at poll numbers and getting complacent. Getting cocky. Feeling "entitled." This is bad for two reasons. One, campaign workers are ambassadors for the campaign, especially one like this which is so grassroots and people powered. We have to project a positive message of hope, not an arrogant message of overconfidence and entitlement. We have to remember that this campaign isn't just about supporters and donors, it's about everyone in the country who is hurting. Two, the one thing we absolutely cannot do is come so far, get so close to the finish line, and then see it slip away because we got too complacent or sloppy. Looking at the end zone before we've caught the pass (my metaphor, not his, but I don't think he'd mind me using it). He stressed to remember who this campaign was all about, and go out and fight like we're ten points down.
We should feel full of confidence and hope, because if we do what we need to do we're going to win this, and we may even win it really big. But the election, while under way and going well, isn't over. Don't for a second think it is.
Lastly, he wanted to thank everyone for how hard they've worked, and how much of their time, labor, heart, and resources they've given. He's thrilled and humbled.
So, Kossaks and everyone else, get to work. Yes, we can! Yes, we will!