Trying to leave it all on the road

This last weekend before the election, the refrain for Democrats is, "Leave it all on the road." We know that who wins the election Tuesday will be the party with the most successful Get Out the Vote effort. I did my part yesterday, spending three hours canvassing here in the Southeast section of Cedar Rapids. Tuesday morning, I'll be a pollwatcher down the street at our polling precinct.

At first, I was a little nervous about canvassing. It takes a lot for me to muster the nerve to speak to total strangers out of the blue. Waiting tables was one thing- I was getting paid to talk to strangers- but I largely left "real" journalism because of my hesitance to bother total strangers. But I forget that I can be pretty persistent, and once I got started, it was really easy- and very enjoyable.

My Saturday started at a 9 am training meeting at the Linn County Democrats office. I noticed immediately that the street parking was full in front of the office and so I pulled around the back, where a number of people were walking in with me. At the training meeting, the small front room was full with, I'd say, 50 people. Turnout was so high, the organizers hadn't made enough copies of the training manual. I'm amazed at how efficient the system is, and how closely they track who votes and who doesn't- during the day, the parties will be able to know exactly who has voted and who hasn't, and will call those that haven't to get them to the polls, which in Iowa, close at 10 pm.

Another thing about voting in Iowa: not only have they had amazing turnout at early voting, the state also allows you to register and vote the same day, even the day of the election. And- I know Republicans will scream, "Voter fraud!" but individual voter fraud is exceedingly rare- if you don't have some proof of residence, you can bring a friend who lives by you to prove who you are.

I get really emotional about GOTV efforts. It just strikes me as the epitome of democracy- ensuring that as many people who can, vote. Part of the swag I was loaded down with yesterday were fliers to give people to let them know what they needed to bring with them to register and vote, and also door hanger-thingies with their polling place printed on it and the list of Democrats down-ticket.

I think if one thing encapsulates Obama's candidacy and his potential as president, though, it was this exchange at the training meeting Saturday:

An elderly man asks with a smile, "What are the rules about fraternizing with the enemy?" Referring, of course, to the Republican pollwatchers we'll be sitting next to on Tuesday.

The organizer running the training, to the chuckles in the room, says, "Of course, when you mark off Republicans from our list that are voting for Obama, we suggest you do those with a little extra flourish."

"But," he pointed out, "the Obama campaign has been stressing, 'Respect, Empower, and Include.'"

And that's just it. Obama's policies, while the Right freaks out about socialism (although I challenge them to actually define it, and then tell me what exactly would be so bad about it), are the most humane and just of the two parties. There might be some gray area in some of his plans, but I fail to see how conservatives can reconcile their beliefs with McCain/Palin's self-centered, individualistic, neoliberal platform. How can anyone object to a president who, by all accounts so far, treats each person with respect and dignity, in his politics and in his actions? How can anyone object to a president who empowers parts of the country who, up until this election, have been forgotten, abused, and sold down the river? Does it not mean something to anybody that Obama is reaching out to the nooks and crannies of the U.S. that have been sorely unrepresented until his candidacy? For me, it speaks volumes that so many people of color feel like they have a voice for once. Shouldn't that be what democracy is about? Giving a voice and a say to all, not just the majority?

On NPR some time in the last month or so, they did a feature on McCain and his favorite poem, which is coincidentally the one in which John Donne writes that no man is an island. I'm searching for that poem exactly, because I think it's ironic that a man who espouses the most individualistic policies would claim to love a poem that outlines exactly the opposite- how we are all connected, how, as Obama has said, and I've written before, we are all our brother and sister's keeper. We must all watch out for each other- and government's role is to help us in doing so. If government is not for the betterment of its people, and not just multinationals, then I don't know what else it's supposed to do.

Yesterday, this little 80-something lady who used a walker had her friend summon me back to her door after she sent me away, telling me she had voted by mail.

I went back to her door, "Yes, ma'am?"

"I forgot to tell you that I voted for Obama," she said. "I wanted you to be able to put another mark down for him."

"That's great!" I said, writing it down on the sheet. "What house number is this again?"

She told me the number, saying that we probably had her son's name down.

"Has he voted?" I asked her.

"No, but I'll be on him about it," she said with a smile, shooing a little dog away from the front door.

The part of town I was canvassing in was about the same as ours: middle-to-working class. But when people were home to talk to, they were excited about voting. They were excited to vote for Obama. And I can understand why. I am, too.