First, a request for help
Do you know any lawyers or law students who are not in a swing state who could be interested in coming to Ohio on Election Day to monitor a polling site? I'm working on efforts to recruit people to prevent any shady behavior that prevent legally registered voters from casting their vote; behavior like intimidation, electioneering, and disseminating misinformation. If you know anyone who might want to sign up or get more info, please email or call me asap. Thanks!
Badges? We don't need no stinking-- oh wait, yeah, badges help
I made it to the Michelle Obama rally! It was held about 10 minutes from our HQ, so 3 of us here at the office jumped in my rental car and zipped across town to Capital University, a school I had never heard of. We had to drive through a few suburban neighborhoods, and it was encouraging to see about 10 Obama lawn signs for every one McCain. The doors opened at 10:30am and Michelle was slated to go on at 11:30am. We got stuck at the office so we arrived around 11am, and almost no one had been let into the arena yet. The line had stretched all the way down the block and around the corner, easily hundreds of people waiting to get in. Fortunately for us, we all had Obama STAFF badges hanging around our necks, so after a few hellos and handshakes with the staff who were working the event, we were allowed to walk past the line and slip right in. There was a section for standing room right in front of the stage, so I managed to stake out the area about 9 people back from the podium.
Michelle Obama for President 2016
There were several people who spoke before Michelle, the most notable was Sherrod Brown, the junior senator from Ohio. He certainly knew how to make the crowd go nuts. He started by saying a few choice words about the Republican senior senator from Ohio, George Voinovich, and went on to hypothesize about how election night might turn out, culminating with Fox anchors Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly being forced to concede that Obama wins Ohio. Video here: http://lermannyc.blogspot.com/
The wonderful part of the rally was how incredibly diverse the attendees were, both by age and by race. Between speakers, everyone sung along to the music being played on the PA system (fun fact: Buckeyes LOVE Stevie Wonder). When a reverend led the room in an opening prayer, everyone held hands. We even opened the rally with a pledge of allegiance to the flag. It was a level of patriotism and togetherness I just don't see that often in my every day life, and it was nice. I suppose it serves me right for not living in the "real America".
Obviously, the highlight of the rally was Michelle. She's arguably a better speaker than Barack, and in her 25 minute speech she spoke beautifully, never once looking down at notes. She managed to address every major issue and every notable demographic, every class, and every age group. It was executed with skillful aplomb, but the best part? She was FUNNY! Not even scripted funny either. At one point, a guy yelled out from the back "I love you, Michelle!!" and she took that and riffed on it for 30 seconds, claiming he's paid to do that on command: "$5 here, $10 there.....okay NOW!" It was exhilarating from start to finish.
A note to the volunteers asking for support after the event: If I'm already wearing a Barack Obama STAFF badge, changes are I'm not interested in signing your sheet to volunteer for Barack Obama. Thanks though. Keep up the good work.
And finally...
Because there isn't office space on Wealthy Avenue
Obviously the Obama camp isn't the only group stationed here in Columbus, OH. The McCain campaign has an office in town too. Here's the kicker: their office is located on Rich Street. Realizing how bad that looks to many people, they've directed all staff to enter through the side street entrance so that they can claim an alternate mailing address that's more politically palatable.
That's all for now, so here it is, your moment of zen (apologies if you've received this twice):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Yes We Can,
David
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