A couple of nights ago I attended a small gathering of Obama supporters in Shelby County Ohio. Things certainly were different than the large campaigns I participated in while in DC over four and a half years. There were 16 people meeting in the town's small library, far more than I had expected but less than I am used to. But the biggest surprise was the lack of coordination with the national campaign. There was some - I'm not saying the organizer didn't do a good job because she did a great job. I'm saying that from the other end - the campaign itself - there wasn't much assistance, and that's new to me because in DC organizers could just walk into the national campaign headquarters and talk to people. Makes it a lot easier to get things done.
Signs - there are no signs for anyone in this area except for a few Ron Paul signs. And there are no signs to be ordered, either. It's been a long time since we've not known the candidates this late in the year, and well, I love it. Now other states besides Iowa and New Hampshire have primaries that count. But the campaigns aren't prepared. Both Obama and Clinton have run out of bumper stickers and buttons. Seems to me with Obama pulling in a million a day, he could afford to makes some more.
I tried to get some of the attendees interested in a happy hour meeting next week but not one of them responded to my email. I guess politics in this part of the country is as dead as I had assumed it to be.
Businessweek had an article on Obama. US Chamber of Commerce rates him low, but they are so far up their own asses that they can't see through the dollar signs, and I can say that because I no longer work for them.
