Saturday was a very good day. Oh, the weather was non-desirable as buckets of rain poured down. A necessary rain in California as we have a dire need for water. One might say that change is coming and the weather bears that out.
I wasn't prepared for what I would encounter when I signed up for GOTV calling at the Palo Alto Obama HQ. Given the rain, I figured it would be sparcely attended at best. Man, was I wrong.
The Obama office is on the very busy boulevard of El Camino Real. It's in a nondescript part of town that is known more for its strip malls than any other association with Palo Alto (think Hewlett Packard or Stanford University). When I drove by, the first thing I noticed that there was no place to park anywhere near the HQ. I circled the block a few times searching for anywhere that might not get me towed. I happened upon a spot in front a restaurant two blocks away. That was fortuitous as that restaurant was a spillover location for the Obama GOTV efforts.
When I first arrived, there were two "Community Organizers" who had handheld walkie talkies. They quickly whisked me and a few others to a third volunteer who staged us while we waited for a team of 15 people. We never even made it in the door. There were three tents that people were sitting and standing under. There were white folding chairs lined up in front of all the storefronts in this strip mall. People were all over the place, outside, making phone calls. Everywhere you could here "My name is _, and I am a volunteer for the Obama campaign..." I was eager to get started.
This photo (above) is the second floor of the Mexican Restaurant where I did my calling. I sat in the same place for about four hours (two shifts) and made calls from a paper that had about 25 names on it. When I completed one sheet, I was given another. The restaurant made sure we all had plenty of chips, guacamole, and salsa. Yummy! Everybody was motivated and worked very hard. I spoke to a number of people who had already voted (I was calling residents of Colorado). I even reached someone who had just returned from doing just what I was doing ... in Denver!
After I finished my shifts, I went back to HQ. It was pouring rain. I figured the crowd would be smaller. I figured incorrectly. People were still all over the place. I squeezed my way inside and was extremely surprised at how large the place was. There were long rows of tables in multiple rooms. Most people were on cell phones, but some were hooked up to a computer. These folks had headphones and a microphone and were letting the computer to the dialing. There was a large sign posted saying this is the number one Obama office in the country for the volume of calls. Yesterday alone, the office made over 100,000 calls (and that was a Friday!) Everybody was engaged. There was no frivolity. It was serious, roll up your sleeves efforts. It was communal. It was where I belonged.
I know that my experience was not unique among the readers of this diary. But I did read a blog entry two days ago about a photo journalist who travelled all over the US to McCain HQs in various states. The thesis of that diary was that there were relatively few people populating the McCain offices. If this example is an indicator, Obama should win in a landslide! I hope this is correct. So many people are putting sweat equity into Obama. I'm proud to be one of them.