Spent almost three hours Saturday canvassing with my mother-in-law. We covered a three or four block stretch in the wedge between Merriman and Portage Path, down in the Valley.
Our numbers: 37 doors; 17 conversations; 5 early voting pledges. Plus, three or four volunteers. Sixteen of the folks we spoke to were voting for Obama; one woman was undecided.
It was actually quite incredible meeting an undecided voter the Saturday before election day. More so because I would describe her as politically engaged; on top of things. We spoke at the door for maybe ten minutes, with her young son tugging at her leg.
My mother-in-law pressed her: What issues are weighing heavily on you? What are your concerns about Barack?
She said that frankly, when it comes to Obama, she’s concerned that he would be a target for assassination.
My mother-in-law quoted FDR: “Remember, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
I quoted Barack: “Don’t worry about me — I have the best protection in the world.”
At some point, she confided in us that she’s been getting inundated with mail — to the point that she no longer reads it. As she spoke, she reached down, picked up a handful of mailers, and handed them over. It was immediately clear that the GOP had targeted her with some nasty, nasty stuff:
Obama Rewards His Friends With Your Tax Dollars … from the Ohio Republican Party, with photos of a smiling Obama pointing at Rezko, Allison Davis, and Kenny Smith. Open it and learn that Obama helped Davis “obtain a $20 million taxpayer funded project” and that he helped Smith land a $100,000 “taxpayer grant,” adding that Smith is now under investigation by the Illinois attorney general. The kicker, in big letters at the bottom: Barack Obama. Not Who You Think He Is.
Another one from the Ohio Republican Party has grainy words: Obama … Political Rewards … Rezko … Kickbacks … Land Deals … Fraud … and then, in huge letters: Who Is Barack Obama?
A third read simply, Inexperience in this Time of Crisis above the words: Recipe for Economic Disaster. Those words are not in quotes, but they are attributed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 9/20/07. On the front is an unflattering picture of Obama beneath the Wall St. sign.
It’s incredible, frankly, that this woman was still on the fence.
We did all we could to tip her over. My mother-in-law has a wonderful, impassioned approach; she starts out with: “I’ve been following this man closely for a year, and I can tell you, he is exactly who we need in this country right now.”
Then we handed her an early voting slip, thanked her, and left her to decide.
hey josh! one correction from your mother-in-law. i told this undecided voter that i have following this man (Barack) for 4 years…not one. but love the posting. it was one of the highlights for me as well! Vote everyone!
Maggie!
Thanks for correcting the record!
Great to see you on the blog!
It’s been a blast GOTV’ing with you!
And … I agree … VOTE!
-ND
Hi Josh,
Among the many conversations I have had with people I try to persuade to vote for Barack, the scariest are those with people I am actually trying to dissuade from voting for McCain – as the foundation for their beliefs is falsehood.
A Jewish friend said she could not vote for a “socialist” Obama, because of his “redistributionist” stance. Knowing this woman has been to Israel numerous times and is a strong supporter of the state, I asked her to consider how she can accept the Israeli government’s long-standing control of the country’s airline, its power (electrical) company, a large portion of the auto industry. And what about the government subsidies and for poultry and dairy industries, to assure reasonable pricing for all?
I explained to her that a more glaring and purer form of socialism was seen in the momentus approval of the recent bailout package – whereby the Senate (including John McCain), House of Representatives and the President all agreed to control the distribution of the nation’s banking and mortgage industries. The US Government has provided subsidies for years to farmers, in order to prevent them from growing too much of a commodity crop and creating a market glut, which would lead to reduced pricing and profit for their own. When government helps to support the distribution and control of our valuable resources and capital, this textbook definition of socialism is okay. When our next president (from my mouth to God’s ears) says he wants to “spread the wealth”, that is supposed to be abhorent? Puleez – let’s put it all on a level field.
As for my second encounter, a conservative-thinking friend of mine sent me a story about the purported association between Obama’s campaign and former Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac execs. Her eyes were opened greatly when I responded with the link about this story from factcheck.org – NOW she knows who tells the truth and focuses on the issues more. I hope and believe I pursuaded her to change her vote.
It appears that fear and mistruth rather than issues and facts will generally be the Republican trump card when all else seems to stop working for them. Obama talks truth, honesty, and tikkun olam – in the next 24 hours, everyone reading this must get that point across.
Paul,
Thanks for checking in, and for this terrific comment!
Great point about “socialism” in Israel — I hadn’t thought of that.
The other thing to point out to folks about Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac is Rick Davis’ deep pockets connection with them. That’s McCain’s campaign manager! I’m surprised he wasn’t forced out a long time ago!
Hope the rest of the canvassing in Beachwood went well! I have been focused on canvassing here in Akron!
Take care,
-ND