Dispatches from the Pennsylvania Ground Game

I'm in a Cosi in Philadelphia, lounging through my extra post-daylight-savings hour, before I head out to an Obama field office.

This is my third trip to Pennsylvania over the past month. Around October 4 I spent a day trip in the suburb of Jenkintown; a week later I spent a saturday in Lower Merion. This time, from yesterday until mid-Tuesday, I'm gonna be in Philadelphia proper.

The general media narrative is, this election is fought mostly on red-state territory, but McCain might have a shot in Pennsylvania. But everything I've seen has looked pretty good for Obama.

A few anecdotes, personal and political:

• There's a very impressive, seamless share-of-power dynamic between Obama's paid operation and the old-school local political networks. When I canvassed in Jenkintown, I first received training at the Obama office, and from there they dispatched me, and other volunteers, to a local organizer's home. The trust they had in eachother was very impressive.

The organizer was a wonderful, wealthy old woman who knew everybody in her neighborhood. Her husband was an NFL player in the '50s, and she exuded this quiet vibe of veteran influence- she was a particular person that every Democratic campaign wants on their side.

She had photos in her home with the Governor of PA, various mayors, and a very proudly displayed photo of herself with Hillary Clinton. She really loved Hillary, and was deeply disappointed by her loss, but ultimately decided that she needed to work for Obama, for the good of the party. And she was working- organizing and making calls and leading our neighborhood canvass. I tremendously admire the Hillary Democrats who are working hard for Obama. I know I couldn't do it if the situation was reversed, so the people who can actually put it behind them, and not just vote, but devote their time- that's really incredible.

• Jenkintown was mostly Democratic, but the undecideds were delightfully varied. 3 houses in a row I got undecideds of every stripe- high information ("I've read Obama's policy papers, and I'm not convinced"), generic ("Uh, I guess I'll vote for whoever's better on the economy and taxes") and cynical ("I dunno… they're both politicians")

• In Lower Merion, in a crucial Philadelphia suburb- the very place where these elections are won and lost- the Obama office was absolutely bustling. A large office filled with dozens and dozens of people, including about two-busloads worth of NYC volunteers. I passed the small McCain office twice that day. When I left to canvass in the morning, it was closed, with a "back in ten minutes!" sign on the door. When I came back, hours later, it was untouched. "Back in ten minutes!"

• I'm spending this last weekend in a poor, black neighborhood in Philadelphia. In earlier weekends we were trying to persuade voters; for the final push we're focusing on getting all of our ID'd supporters to the polls. Every person I talked to was voting for Obama (except one undecided). And they all knew where their polling place was.

• a 13 year old girl ran up to me while I was canvassing yesterday. "How old are you? My cousin thinks you're adorable," she said. The whole neighborhood was so animated- lots of kids on their bikes, lots of guys out just chatting and having a good time, a few old women relaxing on their porches.

• After about 8 pm we left that office and headed to a downtown Philly office, closer to where I'm spending the night. I left at 11 pm and there were still people working- preparing some yard signs, calling the west coast. There's a spirit of fun and purpose all over this campaign. It's pretty exhilirating.



And now it's time to grab a taxi and head back to the office. More notes will come tonight or tomorrow