Day at the Campaign Office

Let me give you an idea of the scope of the Obama organization as the election approaches. It's what first turned the tide his way in Iowa and has been an integral part of powering his run ever since. My job today at the county party headquarters was to train phone volunteers and get them started making get out the vote calls.

Though we were calling from Visalia, California, the county seat of Tulare County, the target state today was Montana. That's because Obama already has a huge lead here in the Golden State, and in our 56-44 Republican Central Valley county the local races do not look very good. Polls in Montana, on the other hand, show McCain vulnerable there, running only 4% ahead.

We had thirty volunteers come in to make calls. Many had never done anything of the sort; that is the kind of interest Obama has inspired. So, what can 30 people do? Make 3000 calls, that's what, to a state where there are only 456,000 registered voters. The 9000 statewide California callers could reach all those voters in Montana in a day. That's right, one day. They could find out who was undecided and make a short pitch. They could identify which ones were for Obama, which ones have voted early, remind those who haven't to vote on Tuesday, tell them where their polling place is and arrange a ride for them on election day if they need one. Then the 15,000 volunteers in Montana itself can take over from there. One volunteer for each 30 voters in the state is huge.

We started calling Ohio a few Saturdays back. Of course this is all in conjunction with TV ads, candidate or surrogate appearances and local efforts on the ground in the states. The effort is being coordinated nationwide. After two weeks Ohio went from McCain by a half a percent to Obama by 4. We then turned our attention to Colorado. After two weeks Obama's lead solidified from 4% up to 7%. We spent last Saturday on Nevada and saw Obama's lead go from 3% to 7%. Today it was Montana. It will be interesting to see what happens if there is a poll released there in the next couple of days, or if not, then what the results are on election day.

The number of volunteers, like the amount of money Obama has raised from small contributions, exemplifies the excitement and commitment Obama has engendered. The organization of the campaign effort similarly bespeaks of the high level of expertise and professional acumen within the Obama team itself. If this is any preview of how a prospective Obama Administration might be run--well, the difference from what we have gotten used to lately could be breathtaking.