It was a beautiful sunny day after what seemed like eternal rain storms in the past week with lots of people from all over the globe walking along and choosing from all kinds of locally grown, baked, crafted and political flavors, albeit soaked or under umbrellas. The Obama table is one feature to many at what the New York Times mentioned "The Dane County Farmers' Market in Wisconsin is now recognized as the largest in the nation, and is still growing."
Due to the massive flooding this past week in Wisconsin, there was a funk in the air due to a lot of the farmers who come to sell their organic masterpieces getting pounced by the excessive rains. Some of the favorite stands with the best vegetables and fruits were selling the last of what they had and were calling it a season this early. The day started off in a fog that didn't really lift until after 9am or so. As the sun started beaming, you could see people getting a bounce back in their step as the sky got bluer.
My usual compatriot at the Obama table had a previous engagement to work at the UN table until after 10am, so it was solo for a bit. Having at least one other person with you when you table is a great thing, especially the quickness to set up, the morning chat to get your day going and a sense from the onlookers that there is something abuzz when the table is set up and rocking along. When he did show up promptly at 10, it really helped get the day going by even faster.
It started off a little slow at first. People would just walk up, ask for a bumper sticker or button and then head toward the next destination. After a half hour, only a few people had signed up. The fog hadn't lifted yet. After making sign adjustments and running across the street to get some batteries to run an MP3 player that was connected to some speakers playing Obama reading "Audacity Of Hope", things started picking up. Maybe the large coffee was finally working. I was trying to get out of being sad at a new feature at the table with the cost of the war, killed and Injured estimates that was posted for people to see.
Cost of War (running total):
$455,250,202,441
American Deaths:
3,726
American Wounded:
27,506
Iraqi Body Count:
70,604 (Min) 77,121 (Max)
(The numbers are from these sites:
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ &
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf)
At least 10 people throughout the day came by and specifically talked about Obama being interviewed by Jon Stewart. All thought he did really well.
As the crowd got thicker and more animated after the fog went away, there became a fairly sudden moment of activity. Two or three people independently would show up, ask for a bumpersticker or button, sign up for email or ask specific questions on the issues.
Mostly the issues were about the Iraq War, but a few people asked about universal healthcare and immigration.
On the Iraq War, I mentioned that Obama wants to start redeploying my next March and that there are a lot more specific details on the web site. People were aware that Obama had spoken out against the war in 2002. A couple vets came by talking about how they liked what he said at the recent VFW convention in Kansas City.
One fantastic man, with the lines on his face writing this life who had served in WWII, signed up to volunteer to work on the campaign. As he signed with his hand pained by arthritis, I asked him if he had volunteered a lot before. He smiled back and said "not in a while, son, not in a while". People commented about the sign I had with the latest gruesome numbers and you could see the anger in their eyes. Sad indeed.
There was a young guy who came by the table and wanted to know how Obama stood on universal healthcare. I explained that he wants universal healthcare that is affordable and showed him some literature from the Obama web site. Suddenly, he burst out "Hey, I'm healthy, I work out, I take care of myself! Why should I pay for all these fat people who eat at McDonald's every day and smoke cigarettes! It should just be like a free market!"
After letting him finish, I simply asked him why should people pay for his needs if he blew out a knee or got injured in a game. He pondered the thought and I thought I saw a lighbulb of inspiration pop out of the top of his head. I asked him if he had healthcare insurance. He said he didn't need any because he's healthy and takes care of himself. I told him that if he didn't have coverage that it would probably cost $500 a month to get coverage. He balked and said it couldn't be that much. After talking more about the intricacies of healthcare, he started to see that reform is indeed necessary.
I wasn't about to tell him to go see "Sicko" since I figured he hated Michael Moore due to what I'd presume was a Limbaugh political diet. He thanked me for thinking about the issue as he was leaving. That's all I could hope for with someone like that who hasn't seen what a sudden hospital visit could do to one's bank account.
There was a family that walked up and started telling me about how some of their "hispanic friends" went on Obama's web site and found out that he wants to kick them out. This was an obvious misread on their part. I showed them where Obama stands on immigration reform, namely a Guest Workers that gives a path to citizenship, permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying illegal alien and family who have been in the US and employed for five years and other topics. I gave them a copy of the document to give to their friends. They were relieved, signed up and took a bumpersticker.
There was a funny moment when a man (Austrian/German...) walked up and put his hand on a bumpersticker and said "It's mine?" I asked if he wanted to sign up for emails and he said he was "from abroad". "Sure", I said. He smiled, grabbed the bumpersticker and left. Who knows where it will show up in Europe.
There was one oddball who came by the very busy table at that point and made the usual Hannity/Right wing talking point about Obama. "Why doesn't he use his middle name when he talks?" she asked. I asked her what other candidates use their middle name when they talk. She then screamed "His middle name is Hussein!" I told her that's what his Kenyan father named him in 1961. She then tiraded that he was raised a Muslim and that he can't be trusted because Muslims are evil people. "Look at 9/11!", she yakked. I handed her a document I made for times like this from Snopes (
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp). I told her to read it and come back with any questions. She grabbed the document and left in a huff. She'll probably never read it.
There was a funny woman from LA who came by the table and talked about the issues and her specific concern about a Clinton nomination. That actually had been discussed with a fair amount of frequency from many people during the day. My response was always to just say that by supporting Obama that there would be no need to worry. I don't walk into the trap of discussing the other candidates while working the table. After discussing more about the issues, she gave me information on a great ad she produced on YouTube (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO5Y2pGD9bI) and wanted me to pass it on. So there. By the way, she's the asian woman near the end of the video. Nice gal.
It has amazed me how so many people react when they are handed a bumpersticker or a button. People get so excited and are thankful. After the day was done (around 1:30pm), about 120 people had signed up and I gave away about 100 buttons and more bumperstickers. I went through a few sheets that had the other candidates' web sites from people still kicking the tires.
My grassroots volunteer batteries are now fully charged for another week.
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