Where I've Been

I quit updating this blog at the same time that I started volunteering with President Obama's grassroots campaign in Alexandria, Virginia. I am proud to tell you that not only was President Obama re-elected, but that we also won Virginia and overwhelmingly won Alexandria.

There are many stories I have wished to relate from this campaign, but I have waited until now to share any. My sense of caution is over-abundant. Nevertheless, it's been an eventual period in my life.

After two lengthy stints campaigning in Alexandria, for the first time I missed the King Street metro stop because I wasn't paying attention and had to double back from Eisenhower Ave.

I was introduced to the show Archer.

Canvassing is more of an art than a science. It's also much easier once the other Fellows from your office start drawing directions on your maps instead of leaving you to determine a walk order by yourself. It can hair-raising to spend 15 minutes trying to decide what direction you should travel with a super anxious volunteer who has never canvassed before. In short, canvassing: don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

Voter registration is at the times the easiest and the most difficult form of campaigning. Most people don't view you as primarily partisan and even Republicans registered with me. While there are a few weird things about completing a voter registration form, it's not that complicated. You stand in one place, generally, and ask people the same thing over and over again. The main challenge, besides burnout, is boredom. There are few things worse in campaigning than standing in the same place for over two hours and failing to register anyone.

There are many signs you can observe that you've grown your aptitude and fondness for campaigning. First of all, if you find yourself actually reading the half dozen e-mails per day you get from the Obama campaign, see a political professional immediately. Second, if you start a campaign enjoying persuasion phone calls because you never talk to anyone, but end a campaign enjoying volunteer recruitment calls because of all the people you hear from, you may actually enjoy your job. (Warning: if your call time lasts longer than four hours, see a field organizer.)

One of the more annoying things about campaigning is that you always have the same conversations every time you meet a new volunteer. The standard chat goes roughly like this:

How'd you start working on the campaign?
How often do you campaign?
What are you doing now other than the campaign?
Oh, where'd you go to college?
What are your future plans?

I remember how tired I was the day before Election Day. On 99.9% of days, I would not have had the energy or the desire to get out of bed in time to make it to the campaign office. For some reason, I popped out of bed that day because my first thought when I woke up was "I might as well try". That attitude, more than anything else, describes what it means to campaign.