Catch up

Seems my time is getting more and more limited as we creep toward election day. Every time I think I am going to take a day away from the campaign office my wife pushes me back to the office. I was there till 12:30 last night. Returned at 8:00 this morning and worked till 5:40. Got to take little man in for the first few hours.

We went through a "dry run" of election day. It was very effective on many levels. It prepared us for the controlled chaos of election day. What I truly was impressed with was the debriefing process that resultled from the dry run. Everyone was quizzed about how to make the highly thoughtout process could be improved. What was its strengths and weaknesses. What worked and what needed to be addressed. I would venture to guess there were 6 paid staffers involved in this process, supplemented by almost a dozen volunteer team leaders. Well over a hundred and fifty volunteers partaking in phone calling, canvassing, volunteer support.

Just before the completion of the excercise a number of the volunteers were invited to attend a conference call regarding the ground operation. The conference call was joined by Barack Obama and he provided words of encouragement, an assessment of the race, a reminder of the importance of the work that lay ahead. The major gist was that we all have worked so hard to put us where we are at that we cannot afford to let it be for naught. This is not the time to let up. This is the time to redouble our efforts. He once again thanked us.

I am planning on taking the day for my family tomorrow. However, my wife may have something about that. I guess I will worry about all that after the election.

Oh yeah he mentioned that he would probably be in Missouri one more time this week before the election. Which tells me they are searious about winning Missouri. Which is interesting because Obama truly can win the EV majority without MO. In last weeks training one thing that was made very clear and makes total sense was that the most important asset a campaign posseses is the candidates time. Nothing is more thoroughly analyzed than how to best invest the canidate themselves. It is great that he will be heading this week.

I would love for him to come to central Missouri. It would a little sense considering he has enerized both the east and west coast of the state with his visits last week to St. Louis and Kansas City. The southwest is very heavily republican. The next largest population center is the Columbia Boone County area. He has a large base of support in the immediate Columbia area. Also I sense he is gaining in the more rural areas around and northeast of Columbia.

However, with such a limited amount of time, it might make the most sense to attack the surrounding suburban counties around KC or St. Louis.