Activism for the Not Panicky

I live in bluest-of-the-blue coastal California, so it's tough for me to get my boots on the ground anyplace that might actually make a difference. Oh, sure, we've got our share of irredeemable wingnuts around here, and I talk things up at work and around town til I'm blue in the face, but Obama is going to win California going away. It's a certainty.

I have a friend, however, who works for a big corporation in Manhattan but lives in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. He was so moved (to anger) by Sarah Palin's snippy VP nomination acceptance speech that he went right out the next day and volunteered to work the PA voter registration beat for the Obama people.

His first day was last Saturday, and here's his report:

"On Saturday, I completed my first day of working for the Obama/Biden campaign. I volunteered to go into the roughest parts of Norristown and go door-to-door to get people registered to vote. I know it's hard to believe that a huge ghetto exists in the middle of the county seat of one of the richest counties (Montgomery) in PA, but it's definitely there. The blocks are full of boarded-up houses, and the sidewalks are littered with used syringes and empty liquor bottles. And with my daughter's blessing, I took [my grandson] with me.

"We had a great experience. Every single person we met was friendly and polite. We got a few new people to register. Many others confirmed they were already registered and were definitely voting for Obama. I encountered zero McCain supporters and only one undecided person. I plan on doing this every Saturday until the election."

So fear not, people are out there, doing hard work, in important places, and they're coming back to report extremely positive experiences.

I just wanna say thanks; thanks to people like Joe.