What are you doing this weekend that's more important than helping Barack Obama cross the finish line as the winner?

The remaining hours between now and Tuesday when the polls close are critical, and here’s why:
** I’ve now made over 1,000 calls to voters and I can tell you: There are still a lot of undecideds out there—more than enough to impact the outcome in several key states.
** Not all Obama supporters are as highly motivated as you are! Many need encouragement to follow through on getting to the polls (or mailing their ballots).
Please do what you can this weekend to make sure that Obama supporters vote! It’s EASY and it WORKS! Here’s how you can help:
** Go to www.barackobama.com and click on “Make Calls.” You can access lists of Obama supporters in your own neighborhood or in key battleground states. These calls are simple and fun—all you have to do is remind the faithful to vote! This is one of the most effective ways to really make a difference!
** OR go to www.barackobama.com and click on “Knock on Doors.” You can print off canvassing lists in your area. Again, this is easy stuff—you’ll be reminding people who’ve already said they’re supporting Obama to get their ballots in or get to the polls!

We all have just DAYS left to MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

The next 10 days are when the Obama “ground game” counts most. Please visit www.barackobama.com to learn about a variety of easy ways that you can help. Invest whatever amount of time you can. Think how much more victory on November 4th will mean if you can say you were a part of this amazing grass roots effort! The rewards are so gratifying that you just feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate. Here are just a few of the memories I will keep with me forever:
**Today I talked to an 88 year old woman named Goldie. She was undecided, and as we talked she revealed that her big concern is the abortion issue. I talked to her about Barack Obama’s approach to reducing the need for abortion by addressing the economic difficulties that force women to make choices they might not otherwise make, and about the need to protect the right of women to choose, especially in circumstances of rape, incest and medical conditions that threaten their lives. Goldie is a smart, reasonable woman, and she is now an Obama voter!
** And then there was Peggy, another undecided voter whose big issue has always been gun ownership rights. Peggy lives on an income of $714 a month. In the course of talking to her she mentioned her grandson, who recently survived a fall that could have killed him. Our conversation was a chance for her to “think out loud” with a nonjudgmental stranger who was willing to listen, and she came to the conclusion that her grandson’s future is the most important thing to her, and that Obama offers the best hope of a better life for him.
** One day as I was working my way though my call list, I realized I was calling a 108 year old African American woman. Just imagine—she was born in 1900, and in 2008 she’ll cast her vote for an African American candidate. I almost couldn’t believe she was real, but then I Googled her and found an NPR article about her. She is real, and THIS IS REAL. I’m pinching myself!! I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!

This race is going to tighten up…

…just like it did in 2000 and 2004. So it’s time to work hard to Get Out The Vote for Barack Obama!!!

Visit the Obama for America website and click on “Action” to learn about all of the ways you can help: www.barackobama.com

If you live in Washington, ballots are hitting mailboxes right now. Remind your friends, family and co-workers to mail in their ballots as soon as possible—they must be postmarked by Tuesday, November 4.

It's time to work EVEN HARDER for Obama

Here is what I’m losing sleep over now: That Obama supporters will start to become lulled into complacency by the recent upsurge in his poll numbers. Forget the polls—now is the time to work harder than ever.
This week I’ve been calling voters in Western Pennsylvania and here’s what I’ve accomplished in just a couple of hours:
** Identified undecided voters that Obama field workers can focus their persuasion efforts on as they knock on doors in the coming weeks.
** Identified Obama supporters that field workers can both enlist as volunteers and focus on getting to the polls on election day.
** Identified hardcore McCain supporters that field workers can cross off their lists and waste no further time on.
** AND I've even persuaded undecided voters to support Obama after just a few minutes of conversation! I'm finding that what Obama-leaning undecided voters are looking for is just an opportunity to "think out loud" with a fellow voter.
Here is what YOU can do NOW to make sure we keep up the momentum:
1) Make calls to voters in battleground states from your own home. Spend as little as one hour (better yet, one hour a day!) and you’ll collect an abundance of valuable data for the campaign.
2) Knock on doors and talk to voters in your own neighborhood. Undecided voters don’t want to rely on television ads—they want to talk to “someone like me.”
Visit the campaign website to find out how EASY it is to print off a list, get it done, and enter your data online to help the campaign fine-tune its focus of effort in the final weeks. http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

How Can Anyone Still Be Undecided???

I keep hearing this question—and my best guess is that by now most undecideds have at least a basic understanding of where both campaigns have planted their flags on the issues, including Issue No. 1—The Economy. And if they are not yet persuaded, then I think they must be trying to figure out who they feel they can trust. Thus, as I look for talking points to use in conversations with undecideds, I keep coming back to articles & posts that offer a window into the character and temperament of McCain and Palin. Here are some of my “picks” from the last couple of days:
** “Make Believe Maverick: A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty.” RollingStone (Tim Dickinson) http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain Excerpt: “In its broad strokes, McCain's life story is oddly similar to that of the current occupant of the White House. John Sidney McCain III and George Walker Bush both represent the third generation of American dynasties. Both were born into positions of privilege against which they rebelled into mediocrity. Both developed an uncanny social intelligence that allowed them to skate by with a minimum of mental exertion. Both struggled with booze and loutish behavior. At each step, with the aid of their fathers' powerful friends, both failed upward. And both shed their skins as Episcopalian members of the Washington elite to build political careers as self-styled, ranch-inhabiting Westerners who pray to Jesus in their wives' evangelical churches. In one vital respect, however, the comparison is deeply unfair to the current president: George W. Bush was a much better pilot.”
** “McCain’s Body Language: He’s a Hater” The Huffington Post (Paul Abrams) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-abrams/mccains-body-language-hes_b_132937.html Excerpt: “McCain has written that the Presidency is not a calling to accomplish a set of goals but just a matter of his personal ambition. Prevented--one must assume by his inadequacy that he cannot admit to himself--from fulfilling his family's tradition of becoming Admiral, McCain is driven to become President, to one-up them. McCain hates anyone, or anything, that stands in his way and, right now, that is Obama.”
** “David Brooks: Sarah Palin “Represents a Fatal Cancer to the Republican Party’” The Huffington Post (Danny Shea) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/david-brooks-sarah-palin_n_133001.html Excerpt: “Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I'm afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices. I think President Bush has those prejudices.”

Grumpy Old Man and Mean Girl

Yup, that’s who we need to steer us through the troubled times ahead—NOT! I spent the afternoon calling voters in Bellevue, WA and Pittsburgh, PA. They are not persuaded by tough talk or cutesy/folksy talk—what they care about is…DUH, THE ECONOMY, STUPID! So as you’re talking to undecided voters, emphasize that we need a solid leader with a steady temperament to guide us through the economic turmoil that we know is ahead of us for the next four years and beyond. In the meantime, some good reading material:
** “Body Politics: What McCain’s Smirks, Tics and Jaw Clenches Really Mean” The Huffington Post (Kathlyn & Gay Hendricks) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathlyn-and-gay-hendricks/body-politics-what-mccain_b_130378.html Excerpt: “Any good therapist learns to read the language of the body, but you don't need an advanced degree to understand John McCain's. His patterns are about as subtle as the flashing lights on a sign that says "Danger Ahead.”
** “The Sen. McCain Method of Campaigning” The Huffington Post (Michael Showalter) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-showalter/the-sen-mccain-method-of_b_131381.html Excerpt: “Watch John McCain and you will see a grown man seethe, froth, squirm, stare, glare, intimidate, wince, scowl, grimace, pick your SAT word for act mean’…His anger arises anytime his authority is questioned. It seems to stem from this notion that because he was a POW that somehow no one is allowed to question his decisions, his judgment, his record. It's the "I was tortured so leave me alone" mode of campaigning and he uses it all the time.”
For more about Grumpy Old Man and Mean Girl see my previous posts on this blog entitled “It’s About to Get Ugly(er)” “Temperament Matters” “Ask Undecided Voters to Turn the Sound Off and Watch Sarah Palin.” More about Mean Girl tomorrow…

Self-Confident Cluelessness--Or, Dubya in Lipstick

I spent most of tonight’s debate closely watching the reactions of undecided voters in the CNN focus group who’d been given meters to record their positive/negative reactions in real time. Nearly every time Sarah Palin leaned on her crutch (the folksy/cutesy talk) their reactions flat-lined. In other words, they were looking for substance, not just somebody they'd like to have a beer with. They seemed to be saying, to quote The Who, [we] “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” And on that theme, please take a minute to read this:
“The Legacy” The New York Times (Timothy Egan) http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/the-legacy/?em Excerpt: “If ever there was an argument for voting against politicians who are confident about their cluelessness, Bush is it. So it was heartening to see that a majority of the country, in some polls, now views Sarah Palin as unqualified to be president. We may have learned something, even if Bush has not.”

Things Are About to Get Ugly(er)

Well, we knew they would. But John McCain’s lackluster debate performance, tactical misfires on the economic crisis and plunging poll numbers (not to mention Sarah Palin’s meltdown in her interviews with Katie Couric) are creating a sense of desperation in the Republican party, prompting calls for stronger attacks on Barack Obama. And since Palin has demonstrated throughout her brief political career that she has very little interest in (or grasp of) policy but is adept at delivering “mean girl” zingers, she’s the obvious choice to lead the "low road" attack as things get uglier. Tomorrow night should be interesting… Hard to say whether any of this will surface in the debate , but expect to start hearing more soon about Obama’s relationships with Tony Rezko, William Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright. (Though Palin will probably need to shy away from Wright since she has bigger “pastor problems” herself…) Do undecided voters care about any of this? My guess is the economy will trump everything. Nevertheless, they’ll be subjected to a barrage of half-truths and lies on these subjects that could make some uncomfortable about voting for Obama. If you’d like to do some reading that will help you separate fact from fiction, below are some selected articles that may help:
** “Rezko Reality” Factcheck.org http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/rezko_reality.html
** “Who Is Bill Ayers” The Chicago Sun Times (Chris Fusco & Abdon Pallasch) http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/902213,CST-NWS-ayers18.article
** “Sliming Obama” Factcheck.org http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_obama.html
“Extra Credit” reading:
** Barack Obama’s Speech on Race in America http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=barack%20obama%20speech%20race%20in%20america&st=cse&oref=slogin