30 days to go

[malsperanza]

Canvassing in central Pennsylvania has been going well. I've met a good number of former Bush voters who are going for Obama and have had excellent conversations with undecideds who asked for Obama lawn signs at the end of the chat. The usual hot-button issue of gun ownership (in rural PA) has not come up. Race in my area does not seem to be an issue. Lots of families have a kid or a spouse in Iraq and are not happy about it. McCain's sabre rattling toward Iran and general belligerence infuriates them.

My friends in Virginia say that the McCain operation is flooding the state, but Obama has a good operation there too.

McCain has (as predicted) abandoned all pretence of having a platform or discussing the issues. No, he wants to win by accusing his opponent of vague but horrifying Evil. I used to admire McCain. I've never seen a man so degraded so fast.



New registrants have been overwhelmingly signing up as Democrats. In many of the states that were GOP last time and are trending to Obama now and states that went Dem last time, but were a tight fight), the crucial key will be new voters and young voters.

So if you live in Virginia, New Mexico, North Carolina, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine: Please consider taking the day off from work on election day to reach out to new voters and make sure they actually go vote. (Sometimes people get shy or feel intimidated the first time.)

If you're a student, or you work on a campus: This year you guys are a powerful force. Your votes count bigtime. Find out where the local polling places are so you can direct people to them. Get a list of people to call on the weekend before the election. Above all, talk to your friends.

Comments

[larryhammer]

Speaking as a constituent, McCain's been known locally as Senator Desperate To Be President for some time. I used to have some respect for him, until something inside him apparently broke in South Carolina 8 years ago, and he started showing more signs of being a raving fruitbat. I'm saddened, but not surprised, to see him shed all moral fiber in his desperation.

---L.