Yesterday, I attended a very well-managed Obama rally in Kansas City, MO. Lot of volunteers and beautifully handled. The video shoot I was scheduled for today canceled. So I decided to head down to the Obama headquarters to volunteer. I had to take two buses to get there. I walk in.
The place is deserted. Totally empty.
I shout “Hello?” No response. After a minute or two, two other people show up. One was a nice enough lady, a kindergarten teacher. She doesn’t know what is going on. The other is the type generic loud, ignorant person that tends to show up at any volunteer organization - I saw the type at a community radio station and at the Chicago International Film Festival - always voicing opinions in a voice like a foghorn, but never around when the actual work has to be done. The type who never listens to anything you say, just waiting for you to finish talking she she can continue. She takes it on herself to call 911.
Finally, someone from the campaign shows up, and it turns out the entire staff is elsewhere for a 4 hour training session for the Get Out The Vote campaign.
That’s fine. Two questions:
[ol]
[li]Why not have ONE person to handle the constant stream of people?[/li][li]WHO LEFT THE FUCKING DOOR UNLOCKED?!?[/li][/ol]
There were a dozen computers sitting on desks. Forget that anyone could have stolen them. Presumably at least one of them was a server with databases on it and the amount of nastiness the opponents campaign could have caused with ALL THE CAMPAIGNS COMPUTERS!
I still intend to volunteer, but Sunday’s stupidity tended to knock a point or two off of Saturday’s pageant of professionalism. I can only assume the professionals were either off conducting the training session, or sleeping off their hangovers from the post-rally party.
“I belong to no organized political party…I am a democrat.” - Will Rogers