Reply #1: I'm in MA, too [View All]

[Luftmensch067]

I was in the main office making calls yesterday and it was great to see the endless stream of drop-in volunteers, all ages, all backgrounds, coming in off the street ready to give whatever help was needed. Every time I've been in that place, I've been incredibly impressed by the caliber of the volunteers and the efficiency and good humor of the place.

The volunteers actually attached to the campaign are excellent organizers and uniformly welcoming and solicitous of new workers, but the volunteers from the community are amazing. You hear other people's campaign calls during lulls in your own, and I notice that a large proportion of them can articulate informed explanations of Senator Obama's platform and at the same time offer deeply persuasive reasons for their own personal support. The guy who was sitting a few steps above me in the stairwell where some of us were making calls from our cellphones was so personable and well-spoken that I wouldn't be surprised to be working for his candidacy one day! I told him that, and he informed me practically that he has five years to go before he can even be a candidate for Congress. :-)

Yesterday, there were a lot of young people (maybe in their late teens?) bouncing in to get signs and go out for visibilities in the local area and they were filled with enthusiasm and hope; it was a pleasure to see them out there. And Obama did win Somerville (where the office is) quite handily! I'm as proud of that as I was when we turned NH Blue in 2004.

I would love to see a geographical breakdown of which towns/areas were won by which candidate throughout the state of MA. I have a feeling that HRC won in the more conservative Democratic areas of the state, but I'd like to know if I'm right. For instance, a friend at work told me that she drew a big crowd in Springfield in W. MA recently, and I bet she did well there. If Obama had had more time and money, I bet he could have made more of a showing in those areas, too. He really did make extraordinary gains very quickly in MA and I think we should all be proud of that!