I'm just about to leave the door after marking "not home" on the canvass sheet. A guy pulls up in a pickup truck with the bed full of tree trunks. "What do you want." I explain I'm a local volunteer with the Obama Campaign for Change. "Are you with ACORN?" "No, I'm a local volunteer with the Obama Campaign for Change." "You really want somebody like that in office?" "Yes, I really do. I think he's really the guy for this time." "A terrorist?"
"He's not a terrorist." "Now this seat (sic) is for sale? Five hundred million dollars? You're an idiot!" "Well, I can see we're really not going to talk about politics. You have a good day, sir." And I start to walk down the block. He follows. "You sure you're not with ACORN? Why don't you go up to the graveyard and register some people there?" "Actually, I'm a deputized voter registrar, and I looked hard at everybody I registered." "You're an idiot!" "You're entitled to your opinion." "You're an idiot!" (A few more times as he follows me down the block awhile.) This is an abbreviated, but accurate account of my worst encounter of 9? 10? weeks of canvassing in this very conservative Wisconsin small (very small) "city." (70% for Shrub in 2004.) In fairness, most McCain supporters we canvassed have been at least civil, many of them cheerful, friendly and even encouraging ("keep up the good work"). But some minds we're not going to change. They're afraid, they're angry, they're rage-filled, they enjoy hating. That's just the way some people are. A month ago we had two 81 year old ladies out canvassing for Obama with us. (They had never done anything like this in their lives.) On the same day, we had an 18-year-old high school student on her fourth canvass with us. Barack Obama has taught us to hope again, and to work for what we hope for. It takes a lot of love to counteract a little hate and fear. I'm going to be in Milwaukee Monday and Tuesday working the Get Out the Vote canvass. What will you do between now and poll closing on Tuesday?
