Ok, well I want to write a rambling message on the last week and where I hope this race is going, so brace yourselves for this one....


I've been volunteering most of my free time in the last week for the Obama campaign in Durham.  It has been one of the coolest and most satisfying experiences I've had in a long time, especially in the doldrums of this ridiculously long campaign.  If you've never gone door-to-door for something that you truly believe in, its most definitely something that you need to do in your life (assuming you can find something that you feel strong enough for to do so).  On Thursday, Friday, and Monday, I did evening canvassing shifts after work, and on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday, I essentially spent most of the daylight hours knocking on doors for Obama.  Throughout the course of this, I met so many interesting people and travelled through neighborhoods that I would probably never venture into otherwise.  I went canvassing with friends and strangers (a young academic woman working for Duke's Environmental School, a middle aged African American woman working for Blue Cross, a late-middle-aged, white-bearded, white man, and even a couple of elementary-school girls).  This campaign is not about young and black people supporting Obama and white middle class folks  supporting Clinton (as much as the media would like to cleanly split this down racial lines).  Obama's coalition encompasses every demographic, and will only continue to grow as this becomes a national general election campaign.

A couple of interesting anecdotes from the streets:

- On Thursday, we went into one of the most urban neighborhoods I've ever been to.  Everyone that I talked to was extremely supportive of Obama (not surprising), but were also super supportive of us taking the time to come to their hood and campaign on his behalf.  Some were incredulous that we were even there.  One guy that my buddy talked to came up to him and said "how the hell did you get this neighborhood?  You should probably get out of here at dusk (it was getting dark)."  He continued, "Shit, even I'm getting out of here when it gets dark."

- Even in these low income, 99% African American neighborhoods, a bunch of well-to-do white kids were welcome.  Often, people would crack the door open with an angry look on their face (thinking that I was trying to sell something or confused at a young white be-'froed jewboy at their door or who knows what).  Once I explained that I was a volunteer for the Obama campaign, the door would swing wide open and a smile would replace the glare and we'd chat for a minute about Obama, and I'd be merrily on my way.

- On Monday evening, I went to a suburban subdivision, middle class, mostly African American neighborhood and once I got about two houses in, two young black girls, Alexis and Shauntel, age 9 and 10, riding on their bikes, started following me around.  They wondered why I was in their neighborhood knocking on doors and once I explained I was from Obama's camp, they were like 'oooh we love Obama!'  I told them  I'd be at their houses soon, but they kept following me around.  I told them they could help me out knocking on doors and they were super excited.  I told them what to say when someone opened the door and got them ready to do their first canvass.  These two super rambunctious and talkative girls knocked on their first door and completely froze up.  They became super shy and tried to recite their lines like they were written in stone.  But by the end of the day, they were fighting over who's turn it was and if they could be the one to say the lines.  They also added a nice touch at the end, whispering '1, 2, 3' and then together saying 'Go Obama!' with a fist pump when we were about to leave.  So great.  I gave them stickers and buttons at the end of the day and told them they had just done more for the future of this country than they realized.

- Evidence that canvassing works:  North Carolina polls closed at 7:30 pm.  At 6:45 me and a partner reached our final turf, where we had given up on the targeting lists and were just running (literally) from house to house, knocking on doors blindly and encouraging anyone that hadn't voted yet that they had another 45 minutes to get their voice heard.  During those 45 minutes two things happened.  The first door I knocked on, holding my big Obama flier to make it obvious who I was, was answered by a happy man holding the same flyer, explaining that someone had already come to canvass there.  I said that was great, have you voted yet?  He said, no, but I'm about to, "I'm just gonna go do it on the internet."  I almost shit my pants.  He was holding a flyer that explained exactly where to go and what to do to vote, but he thought you could do it on the internet.  I was like "NOOO!  Get in your car now!!! Go to the polls!"  He laughed and promised me he would make it in time.  Later on, at around 7:20, we decided it was time to head back, as it was unlikely that anyone at their home would have time to get in their car, and get to the polls in time.  Just as we were walking to our car, a jeep speeds up to us and the driver flings the door open and says "OH my god I forgot to vote!!!"  We ran over to her and said 'close your door, heres a flier with the address of your polling place, GO GO GO!'  She peeled off - hopefully she made it in time.


Last night, all the volunteers finally finished our jobs and met up at a bar to unwind and watch the returns come in.  When Obama began to speak, everyone was silent and listening to him make a speech on what will likely be seen as a huge turning point in this campaign.  He thanked his volunteers for delivering a resounding win in NC (14% win here!!!) and I nearly choked up.  His speech sounded like an acceptance speech, his tone was strong and presidential, he was back on his message and his game, and the media has finally realized that he is now the presumptive nominee.  This was an historic moment in this campaign and I'm so excited, elated, and honored to have played a part in it.  I'm walking on air today.


As far as my commentary on the future of this race - I've always been one of the few that has believed that while this campaign has been lengthy, stressful, and at times really dirty and sexist and racist and pander-ific, that overall this is a great thing for the Democratic party.  We had record turnout of Dems in states that are most definitely in play in the general election (NC and IN to a lesser extent).  We have put into place an infrastructure of extremely charged up volunteers who are ready to go back to work for the campaign as soon as we are needed.  And we have expanded the rolls of voter registration to unprecedented levels (to the likely satisfaction of DNC Chair Gov. Dean's 50-state strategy).  Now that there are only a handful of states left, and a handful of delegates left, the math is solid.  There is no metric that Clinton can cite as a path to the nomination, but I DON'T think she should get out just yet....  hear me out here...

Lets say she gets out today (not happening, but lets go with it).  Next week is the West Virginia contest which she is likely to win by huge margins.  This would be enormously embarrassing for the presumptive nominee to lose a contest a couple days after he has been given the nomination.  What I believe should happen (and this is more of a dream than a likelihood) is this:  Clinton stays in the race but uses whatever scraps of resources (we just learned she has loaned her campaign a total of $11+ million so far...) she has to sharpen attacks against McCain.  She stops running against Obama and lets these races run their course.  On May 20, Oregon and Kentucky have their say, and Clinton is likely to win KY and Obama OR.  On that night, Clinton and Obama should appear on the same stage (real pipedream), and Clinton should congratulate Obama for a great campaign and cede the nomination to him on that night.  This would go miles in reuniting the party and the media would eat this up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They would declare that the party is back on track to unification, and it would give Clinton a way to very classily and gracefully step down from this nomination while still remaining an indispensable superpower in the party and could quell a lot of the animosity between the most partisan of supporters.  Clinton would be guaranteed to remain extremely influential (as she should be) - no one doubts that she will, as the second place finisher, be absolutely essential to a Dem win in November.  She can't be kicked out, she can't go out fighting, she can't be pressured out by Obama or his supporters, and she can't let this go to Rules Committees and Credentials Committee - it has to be an orchestrated exit so as to lend utmost legitimacy to Obama's victory in this close contest...  And it will also allow Obama to end the primary with a 'confetti night.'  This is also essential to the perception of victory to the media and the country.  It's mathematically feasible that, should Obama get enough superdelegates to commit between now and May 20, that the delegates earned that night could put him over the bar as the official nominee.  This would be a much better-perceived victory than having him gain some extra superdelegate on a random Monday afternoon that finally puts him over the top.



So there, thats what I would do if I were the omnipotent puppetmaster of the Democratic Primary race.  It appears as though this is also the plan of the Obama campaign (save the Clinton/Obama same stage victory speech) - they have been sending out memos to the media and to superdelegates saying that they are looking at May 20 as the end of this primary campaign...


By the way, just to address this as well - the Michigan and Florida problem now does not matter anymore.  Obama now is assured to have a majority of pledged delegates, which translates to a majority of members of the Rules and Credentials Committee (including Howard Dean's loyally selected members, who will undoubtably defend the rules as they are now), which will decide the fate of the delegates in MI and FL.  And moreover than that, even if you accept the delegates as they (unfairly, and unsantioned-ly) currently stand, Obama still is ahead by all metrics.  So this issue becomes moot and will be sorted at the meeting on May 31 of the Rules Committee.  The delegates must be seated, but they will do so in a compromise deal that makes everyone happy...


Ahh, I feel good!!!  YEEAAA!


Sorry for the breathlessly long post... I had a lot to say, but I appreciate you reading (assuming you are still reading at this point)


Fact Nugget of the Day - Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC convention will come exactly 45 years to the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech.

Awesomeness - Durham County was the most pro-Obama county in NC - he won 75% of the vote here!!! WOOOO!

Cheers.