Betty, 72 years young, is holding down the fort at the Obama campaign office when I walk in the door on Wednesday morning. A friend had invited her to a meeting on a Friday night a month or so ago and now she is part of the campaign.
She believes this election is important and is giving her time and energy to help re-elect the President. This is the first campaign for which she has ever volunteered. We talk about knocking on doors and telephone calls. She is not comfortable with those forms of volunteerism and she makes her contribution by being at the headquarters, answering the phone and inputting data. She is doing her part. I talked with another woman, Becky, also volunteering for the first time.
Jason is a local teenager, not yet old enough to vote, but is donating his time and energy to this campaign. I did door to door canvassing with Jason and Olivia last night. Olivia is from New York and is in Ohio doing her part.
Sara, another out of stater in Ohio, called this afternoon and asked if I would like to I to do more neighborhood canvassing. I was planning to join them for local phone banking this evening, but am delighted to join a local woman, Donna, for more direct contact with Ohio voters.
Donna and I spent three hours identifying Obama voters. The enthusiasm of the people who are supporting the President is an energizing force. They are going to vote for the President and are excited about doing so and many promised me to try to take an extra person to the polls with them to give us poor lost Democrats in red states a voice in this election.
When we returned to the office, the chairs were full of phone bankers calling voters. Everyone doing their part. Hit the phone lines, there are still voters to talk to.