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Obama in San Antonio
Today, I went to volunteer for Obama's first appearance in San Antonio. Obama was coming to a small area in the west side of San Antonio. There were Hillary signs in some of the local shops, so I think Obama went here specifically to take on Hillary in her "home turf."
The area picked for a more intimate setting, thus most people were not able to enter the event. However, Obama did come to address the people still lingering outside of the event. There were probably 3,000 people at the event in all, which doesn't sound like alot, but considering the size of the area, it's amazing and a credit to the volunteers that all those people were able to park and enter.
When he addressed the crowd, it was electric. Despite a sound system that was cutting out, everyone was cheering as Obama delivered his standard points: Ending the war in Iraq, getting health care for all, and getting off of foreign oil.
It's going to be a close race in Texas, but I've personally never been prouder to be a Texas Democrat. I read somewhere that there have been over 800,000 volunteers sign up in all of Texas. I've personally seen hundreds of volunteers showing up at events, including about 400 last night show up to volunteer for the even today.
Comments (9)
How nice for you. I felt the same way the first time I went to a rock concert, that was in 1969.
What do you think of Paul Krugman's criticisms of Obama's health care plan?
February 19, 2008 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think Krugman is a sensational zealot. And his slamming of Obama's health plan shows this. Hillary actually changed hers to mirror Obama's a couple months ago when she didn't have the part about computerizing records.
The mandates is a philosophical question that doesn't deserve the scorn and ridicule Krugman seems to attach to it.
February 19, 2008 7:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
artappriaser 7:01PM:
I would refer you to Robert Reich's strong criticism of Krugman's analysis of the health care program.
Reich thinks that Obama's plan is a bit better, and is disturbed that the Clinton campaign is mischaracterizing it.
You can read Reich's analysis on his blog by googling Robert Reich blog, and looking under the December and January entries.
February 19, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Changed my mind, I'll be honest. My last comment was not in good faith. First, just so you know, I am fine with Obama becoming the president, and I am aware of both Reich's and Krugman's opinions.
Basically I really was just interested to in knowing how faithfully this poster was following campaign instructions:
from New York Times, Feb. 17and whether the poster is interested in using this forum in "good faith," or basically just for campaign spam. Because it used to be a good place for grown-up analysis and not so much for campaign hijinks. And I really really don't like the way Obama's campaign is using some of these kids. He should be educating them on issues rather than turning them into fans.
February 19, 2008 7:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I missed that article earlier. Thanks.
I think volunteers have a tricky position in the any campaign. They aren't truly surrogates, but can be seen that way by voters so they should be careful that anything they say is their own personal opinion and not an official stance of the campaign.
The 'came' part is interesting. If I take a negative opinion of it, it sounds ominous. I can also take a positive and it means to feel free to tell voters why you decided to support the campaign.
The quotes suggest that it's paraphrased, so why I don't particularly like hearing something like that, I don't give it too much credence.
February 19, 2008 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, artappraiser, I appreciate the concern, but as a 34 year old "kid", I don't just let anyone "use" me.
To be honest, I don't really buy into the Health care difference argument, because it's highly unlikely either Clinton's or Obama's health care plan will be implemented as invisioned. That said, I suspect Obama's might have a better chance at passing Congress, because it's not mandatory. But that's just a guess.
The reason the Obama campaign wants people to talk about a more personal connection to Obama, is that's going to be more likely to get someone to support Obama in a 30 second phone call.
We don't have time to call millions of Texans and explain in detail why Obama's policies are better than Clinton's. But, I can tell you my belief:
This election is about us, the voters, taking back our country from the establishment. We have a historic opportunity to bring democracy back to the people, especially in Texas where we haven't had a contested primary for as long as I can remember.
Whether this post is in "good faith": it's what I honestly believe, and it's an honest explanation of why I volunteered.
I thought that's what these blogs were supposed to be about.
February 19, 2008 8:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Awesome news, thanks for sharing the personal account.
February 19, 2008 11:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, Sean
I really appreciate hearing about the campaigns from the volunteers or just the average joe/jane in the town that the candidates visit. I too live in San Antonio and grew up in Texas so I can totally relate to your experience of being proud and energized by this election especially in Texas.
In all honesty, not every voter decides to become informed by the policies of each candidate, so any criticism of volunteerism seems a bit naive in understanding the way our political process works. Obviously it would be great to think that all the voter's would thoroughly research the candidates policies but the facts are that many voter's are going to decide who they vote for on a more superficial analysis. This is why it is so exiting to see people gathering for both the candidates on the Democratic side. At least these people have a chance of feeling they are part of this civic process and honestly I think most Americans are eager to show their willingness to move forward in American History. Of course I believe that most of the excitement in this race can also be attributed to our dire economic situation, our dire environmental situation, our dire foreign diplomacy, the war and other issues which basically can be seen as 'blowback' from Bush's presidency. On another note it would be ignorant to ignore Mr Obama ability to inspire people.
February 20, 2008 5:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hi, Josh, glad you enjoyed my post.
It's funny, but at first I was just inspired by Obama's speeches, but as I researched more about him I realized he's a lot more than just talk.
He has introduced impressive legislature in his short time in politics (both in Illinois and in the US Senate) and has proven to "walk the walk."
I'm planning on going canvassing this weekend, and will be happy to report how it goes.
February 21, 2008 10:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
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