Appeal to New Yorkers to make calls

An appeal from my friend Jeremy Goldberg to New Yorkers to come make some calls tomorrow:

Hi all:

You'll have the bear with the flurry of emails in the final few days of this election.  The risk of a McCain/Palin victory is worth a little spam.

I'm just back from spending the day in PA yesterday.  I was in probably one of the worst neighborhoods in the city--I literally thought I was in the episode of the Wire, including the drug deal I interrupted.  But what was remarkable was the overhelming support (120 voter contacts, 119 Obama supporters) for Obama, which says that the campaign is targeting the right folks.  I had a 50-year old Hispanic woman who said she had lived in PA all her life, and had never voted, but would take a chance on Obama.  I think the turnout will be incredible among those who have rarely been engaged politically before.

But what was scary were the RNC mailers on people's doors with malicious lies, including that Obama was a terrorist, and a nasty flier about Obama's ties to Iran.  If they are targeting the poorest neighborhoods where there are no McCain supporters to be found, imagine the flood of lies going into swing areas.  Not to mention the deliberate misinformation being spread in these poorer neighborhoods (you can't vote if you have outstanding bills, Democrats vote on 11/5).

The campaign has an amazing operation to counter this, but it requires all of our help to get the right information out.  Volunteer numbers in my part of PA yesterday were DOWN from where they needed to be, and phone calls into battleground states were also BELOW target.  There is no doubt people are complacent right now, and this presents a huge risk. 

There's a reason people who run the marathon sprint to the finish.  Because after all that hard work and effort, no one wants to leave anything out on the course.  The same thing goes in the last few days of a 20 month campaign for the presidency.

Join me TOMORROW and phonebank for a few hours.  Here are the details:

When:  Monday, 10am-9pm
Where:  Touch, 240 W.52nd Street
RSVP: You can just show up, or respond at http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptjjd

Motivation:  Elect Obama President
Social Motivation:  Jeremy will introduce you to other cool Obama phonebankers...

If you're feeling lazy, find a location right near you and step up to the plate:  http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nylastcall/

Going back to my marathon analogy, don't just stand on the sidelines and cheer.  Get in the race!!!!

Please spread this email to 21 friends, in honor of Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes.

Best,
Jeremy