Overdue: Volunteered at a Brooklyn for Barack rally

About a month ago I volunteered to help coordinate an appearance by Barack Obama at a downtown Brooklyn hotel (ok it was the Marriott, which has now hosted more than one such appearance in NYC; a kudos to them). In an ironic twist of fate I was charged with a task which required two skills in which I particularly lack those abilities: schmoozing and handwriting.

I was asked to do "press intake". What that means is that as members of the press, be it magazine, newspaper, radio, TV, whatever, arrive they need to be "checked in" against a list of those who were known to have RSVPd and if they weren't already on the list -- and here's where the handwriting comes in -- write them up as walk-ins. I was also expected to explain to said members of the media why, for example, they were not allowed to enter the rally/speech/convention space for fully an hour after they were cited to be at the location -- not the sort of diplomatic assignment with which I brag about having had experience on my resume.

I did manage with the help of various people whose names are lost to posterity.

What most impressed me about the afternoon was that in the space of minutes this:

... turned into this:

The power of a rock star, in essence (or, GQ, in this case).

My favorite linear equation of the day

A report-with-analysis released by Gallup in the last week shows a direct and "sturdy" correlation between favorable ratings of Barack Obama and the level of education of the respondent.

In other words, the more (formally) educated the person is (feel free to translate that to "smarter" or not as you see fit) the likelier they are to think the guy is OK.

I used the word "sturdy" because the Gallup people were smart enough to also present the data controlling for the fact that

(a) higher-educated people are more likely to be Democrat, across the board (also a surprise that wasn't a surprise but it's nice to see it written down), and (and this is the real surprise)

(b) among Republican respondents Obama is the only candidate for which the favorable numbers go up significantly as a function of education(*).

(*) Conversely, the other consistent finding in this survey/study is that Hillary Clinton is the only major Democratic candidate for which the favorable numbers drop significantly as a function of educational level -- both on the Democratic and Republican side although strangely not for independents (added 8/17: most likely a taxonomy issue; "independent" often being a catch-all term for "don't know / don't care / hung up").

If only there were more smart people than non-smart people this would be a lot easier.

Politics, Twenty Minutes into the Future

In the Max Headroom movies & shows (one each, on each side of the Atlantic) almost exactly twenty years ago, a number of prescient futuristic predictions, one by one, have proven accurate to the point of making them seem like hindsight.

On this primary season one more fulfilled prediction that might have flown under TV viewers' radars was realized when people who watched the debate via the Web instead of the broadcast/cable channels were treated (if so they chose) to superimposed graphics of real-time feedback from focus groups (delivered via dimmer switches, where each of the 100-odd individuals expressed their approval as a matter of degree by rotating the wheel, or somesuch device, in their hand) as they themselves watched the debate. (post link goes to web page with many atomic examples of this).

This is the same opinion/emotion gathering technique used by marketers and TV programming experts (and political strategists, which is the same as the previous two groups) for decades to save them the trouble of actually having to know anything in order to do their job.

What I'm keen on is that, through the Web, the political process now saves EVERYBODY the trouble of having to know anything. It neatly closes the feedback loop circuit of people basing what they think on what other people think.



(I admit I happened to find out about this Monday night out of necessity because the Demo debate was shown on CNN and I don't have cable, not because I watch the debates on the Web just so I don't have to get up from my desk chair, which is somehow less shameful to me; guess which one I'll be using from now on?)

Step right up! Get your red-hot presidential candidate!

Yesterday I took part in a nationwide initiative for the Obama campaign called "Walk
for Change". The idea is that local groups (minimally overseen but rather
merely inspired by the national campaign) would canvass their neighborhoods (some
going door-to-door) to share our enthusiasm for the candidate.

Here are some photos:



We set up a table with informational materials, registration forms etc right outside Ft. Greene Park around 10am. Tamara Hood, person on the left bent over the table, is one of our neighborhood organizers.

This is Amanda, who painted her toenails with the campaign logo
(click to enlarge):







The Gray Lady was there in the form of videographer Geoff McGhee (who was a really nice guy and always got my good side) and ace reporter Michael Cooper.

(that's Michael Cooper,
not Matthew Cooper....)

I'm told my photo will be featured in the paper but I didn't get a consistent answer on when. Watch this space.



We then walked to St. John's Episcopal in Carroll Gardens where, in the church's recroom basement, some of the national campaign staff people gave us some pointers on how to deal with the public. Basic stuff like showing interest in their lives and not badmouthing the opposition.

The church's priest is this pensive-looking gentleman who actually had some wise words to say to the group regarding the connection between true Christians (i.e., the Golden Rule / love your neighbor / what goes around comes around sort, not the "do as I say or you'll go to Hell" type) and the need to promote political candidates who espouse those values in their policies regarding education, health care, tolerance and inclusivity etc (which was his way of saying that while the church's space was open to be used for any constructive purpose by any of the other campaigns that he was not exactly going out of his way to invite them). I'm also including the photo because it is the first known instance (to me) of a priest standing directly under a mirror ball.

We then went out canvassing again, this time to a combination restaurant / outdoor cafe / flea market which due to a lack of pre-arrangement with the owner, we almost immediately had to vacate.

Instead we went two doors down to Gardel's Gardens who not only let us set up a table outside their business but actually gave us the table to use for the day.

Gardel's Gardens, conveniently located near the corner of Fulton and South Portland Avenue, is a wonderfully stocked family-owned plant shop that has a little of everything and employs a helpful, knowledgeable staff who are eager to answer any questions from the plant-loving public.

Specifically, I learned that the ivy I bought from them does not need a large plant container at all in order to grow large enough to cover this entire wall adjoining my rooftop deck. Amazing!

Come one, Come all

I'm hosting a public meeting
to view a live online event with Barack Obama


click here to attend

Vote Smart

This site allows you to look up who your congressional (Senate & House) reps are and what vote they gave to all bills that came up during their terms. Know who represents you! This is particularly important during the primaries, when one can get rid of a bad apple without having to throw out the baby (Party) with the bathwater (unfortunately it does not always work).

Barack Obama | NYC March 9 '07 fundraiser

I went to the March 9 fund raising event for Barack Obama in New York.

I had made some laser-printer signs to hold up in case there was an opportunity to have my picture taken with Mr. Obama. I actually had this idea where he and I would hold up one of the signs together -- his choice of which one. As it turned out the cattle call of $100 donors was more akin to a Led Zeppelin concert ca. '72 than something even as impersonal as a royal receiving line.

Still, the sentiments endure. We're open to an over/under for when the back of this idealism will be broken.