Five Days in October: What Did We Learn?

ALAN:   We're home.    And while we missed Judi and Ariel something fierce while we were away,  we came home with mixed emotions.   A portion of each of us wanted to stay in Virginia and finish a job we feel we left uncompleted.

On our final day on the trail,  we engaged in what could only be described as light duty work;  we registered voters at the William & Mary University Law School in Williamsburg.     This was only slightly more difficult than fishing seaweed out of the ocean.    In a span of about 75 minutes,  we registered five new voters merely by standing in the lobby of the law school.     What's more,  it wasn't even during prime time;  we missed the rush of students during the 12:45-2 p.m. lunch hour, as we had a 3 p.m. flight out of Richmond and couldn't stay beyond noon..

We returned with the registration forms to the lively, friendly confines of the Williamsburg office, where had a chance to briefly schmooze and say our goodbyes to Keeley Houlahan,  the wonderful director of that office,  and the handful of volunteers who were making phone calls, stuffing envelopes and doing various other good deeds for the campaign.     Some of them already knew we were from out of state.   One woman found out only at that moment and was quite moved by the fact that we'd come so far.    She smiled at Lauren and said "You're a very special girl to be doing this."   Indeed, she is.

We hopped in the car and headed for the airport,  just 35 miles up Interstate 64.    We were leaving reluctantly.

A quick 65-minute later,  we were home.

As our flight crossed over Long Island Sound,  I turned to my little campaigner and asked her to size up the trip.

"Amazing," she said.

That's all I needed to hear.

When I originated the idea for this trip some six weeks ago,  I had two goals in mind:  work like heck on the campaign,  and turn it into a learning experience for Lauren.    We accomplished both objectives without difficulty.

In five days,  we learned a great deal about Virginia,  the campaign,  and what people are feeling and thinking.    Here's the substantially abridged compendium of knowledge we acquired as we criss-crossed the state:

1.  Virginia is a beautiful state which,  like Massachusetts,  effectively preserves the past while keeping a keen eye on the future.   

2.  The people of Virginia are extraordinarily kind and courteous,  much more so than in our part of the world.

3.  The Obama campaign in Virginia is a superbly-run operation,  staffed by mostly recent college graduates who bring to the campaign a level of energy that is infectious.

4.  The campaign has enlisted a massive cadre of volunteers, some of whom walk in off the street,  prepared to do anything from cold calling likely voters to getting water or lunch for other volunteers.    These volunteers come from every point across the demographic spectrum.    The women in particular have no fondness for Sarah Palin.     The volunteers LOVE talking about the issues.    There is a sense of common purpose among them.    The campaign offices are fascinating places at which to simply hang out and talk politics.

5.   The campaign, at least in Virginia, quite clearly has done an amazing job in registering new voters.  The strategy of registering students where they attend school,  and registering new voters in low-income areas,  could pay big dividends on Election Day.

6.  Senator Obama is a terrific orator who can captivate the imagination and emotions of a crowd.   He has become iconic in ways that have not been seen in this country in quite some time.  

7.  At the age of 10,  Lauren Fanger was exposed to so much that is good about the political process.   It isn't easy to knock on doors,  as we did in Williamsburg yesterday,  and to talk to complete strangers about something very personal to them.    It isn't easy to do cold calling or to cajole people into registering to vote.   Yet she did all of these things  and was fascinated by the conversations, encounters,  and generally by the people we met.    Something tells me this is the first of many campaigns (as long as she can take time from her theatre schedule!).

We will have our eyes trained on Virginia on Election Day.   As the results are announced and projections are made,   Lauren and I will undoubtedly look at each other and wonder why we're not there,  either in consolation or celebration.   But we'll always remember with fondness the places we went,  the people we met,  and the cause that brought us to this special place.