Rob Wood is the son of a colleague at my elementary school. Rob is a young man who thrust himself into the heart of the Obama campaign in Roanoke. He was the point man for a local voter contact and get out the vote network. Over the past few months, Rob worked tirelessly in the Valley to get Barack Obama elected. Here's my letter to him.
Rob,
The winds of change have swept the land.
The real thanks goes to you, my friend, and all of the people who helped organize the effort. I've been watching campaigns my whole life, and I've never seen anything like the organizational effort the Obama campaign produced.
I owe you a huge debt of gratitude.
I wish you could have seen your mother at school today. She was absolutely giddy!
I'm a bit of a political statistical nerd, and I was rooting through precinct data last night. I was amazed at the turn-out, strong across the state, but especially strong here in Roanoke. I noted that at Oak Grove, 60% went for McCain this year while 65% went for Bush in 2004. That's a huge shift, but one that might be glossed over by sexier numbers elsewhere.
I also noted that at my home precinct, Northside-in Roanoke County, we had about 88 new voters. That didn't seem to match what I saw at the polls. There, I saw hordes of people absolutely overjoyed to be voting, included, and vested with HOPE. I also saw others grimly clinging to a desperate vote all the while shaking their heads in disbelief as their personal political world was being turned upside down.
Our challenge now will be to find a way to include everyone in a positive wave of true reform.
It will be a job every bit and even more challenging than getting Barack Obama in the White House. It's the unfulfilled mission of this great country, this great ideal.
Thanks again and best wishes to you.
Thom
No comments:
Post a Comment