Does this help?

Oh, the thrill of seeing celebrities come together for a common cause

HA especially @ "I lika Bone-o"

Another historic event with Barack

I hope I'm not getting too braggy about this stuff.

Once again, living in Denver pays off. Yesterday Dave convinced me we should volunteer for the Obama rally today. I didn't want to. I wanted to camp out and end up right behind him and on tv (and mouth the words "I am so right, MOM!")

But Dave and I went to the volunteer training and as soon as we got out of the car, I was swept up in something bigger than myself. People poured into Manuel High School from all directions. We entered the gymnasium to see 1,200 volunteers. All sitting quietly, waiting for instructions. We immediately saw several friends from different groups.

The assembly started with a story told by one of Colorado's lead volunteer organizers. Very early on in his candidacy, he got to spend the day with Barack Obama. He spent the entire day before trying to think of questions he wanted to ask the Senator. But as soon as he introduced himself, and for the entire day, Mr. Obama asked all the questions ("Where are you from?" "What do your parents do?" "What are your issues?" etc.) He said that the character of this campaign comes from the boss himself--a genuine interest in serving one's community. Indeed, the motto posted in all of the campaign offices is "Respect. Empower. Include."

So, as if they didn't have me THEN, they made a more direct appeal: Barack Obama NEEDS our help.

Our training: Smile. A lot. Be friendly. Be helpful. Don't yell. Don't run.

And then some details, but those are the instructions that stuck with me.

As you have probably heard, the number of people who came to the rally in my hometown broke not only all local records, but national records for attendance at a political rally. As Dave pointed out, this is not about politics: this is about a movement for change.

As a side note, Dave and I being the hams we chatted with the people waiting in line, encouraging them to vote early and to volunteer. Dave told them, "You are the change we've been waiting for!" Loudest laughter: mine.

Downtown Denver Vote Early Rally

Laura Dern spoke, then introduced her husband, Ben Harper, who sounded AWESOME!!

Picture Essay

I loved that he cleaned up after himself before leaving an ice cream shop in Wapello, Iowa. He didn't have to. The event was over and the press had left. He is used to taking care of things himself and I think this is one of the qualities that makes Obama different from so many other political candidates I've encountered. Nov. 7, 2007.

See more photos here.

Probably the Funniest Video I have EVER seen

Especially for David: a dance-off between the candidates!

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover

Are candidate bumper stickers as prevalent in other parts of the country? Time spent in the late summer on the Western Slope of Colorado, I didn't notice many, but there are, as you might expect, a bunch in Denver. I am often surprised by the types of vehicles sporting Obama stickers. This morning: a beat up gray pick up hiked up on big tires. I just would not have expected them to be an Obama supporter. But, then again, I just read this post on another blog:

Ben Smith received an interesting e-mail. It's from an Obama canvasser in Southern Ohio and deserves repeating.

In the first house I visited, a huge Confederate flag that completely filled my field of view was tacked to the living room wall. Couldn't take my eyes off it as I launched into my standard Obama talk. The guy stopped me mid-sentence, "We're with Obama. He's the only one for the working man. Most of us around here are GM and GM is with Obama."

His neighbor was a postal worker. I almost missed the ceramic black lawn jockey on his porch, a relic of bygone days in many other parts of the state, but what was unmistakable was the household's political allegiance: a "Postal Workers Back Obama" yard sign was planted on the front lawn.

Fashion Critique of the Candidates

I thought this was funny. And informative. Like John McCain, I, too, struggle to avoid "looking like a rectangle."

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/galleries/frontrunners

Jenn Gr'08dy

Thanks for all the support, guys!

Link to News Story

I found this to be FASCINATING

It's an Implicit Association Test by something to do with Harvard (Harvard!). It has you look at pictures of the candidates (some flattering, some not so flattering) and words (like "pleasant", "friend", "hate", etc.) and has you attempt to associate the words with the different candidates. Then, it shows you how fondly your brain thinks of each candidate.

(Full disclosure: my results had Obama way on top of the "I Like You" scale, Clinton JUST above McCain and I had to scroll down TWICE to see Huckabee.)

Although... I can't imagine the results would ever come out so that you would be surprised. "Oh my gooooooddddd... I really DO like McCain!"

Take the TEST (scroll to the bottom and click on "Presidential Candidates Task" (last link)

GOOD LUCK!