Phonecalls For Obama

With three weeks to go, I finally got my rear in gear and did something I swore I would never do again: telemarket.

This time I was shilling Obama.

Have to hand it to him -- the setup they've got at My.BarackObama.com is pretty sweet. It's exactly like the old days... the names and numbers pop up automatically, I click a little box that says "answering machine" or "number disconnected" or (ideally) "supports Barack Obama," and the next number appears.

Only this time, of course, I'm using my own resources and phone minutes. ^__^

Unfortunately, the experience seemed to me much more symbolic than effective. I can tell my grandchildren that I played a role in getting President Barack Obama into the White House, but truth be told nearly all of my calls were answering machines. Which I expected; I don't pick up for unknown numbers either. (If Obama's campaign were really smart, they would set up some kind of Skype-like thing where all of our numbers could be routed through something which would cause the display on the cell phone/call waiting to read "Barack Obama." That would at least tip off the people as to who was calling.)

I did two sets of calls (one in the morning and one in the evening) and only spoke to two people. One woman told me to get off her phone, and one man spent a long time explaining to me exactly why he didn't vote.

"The country isn't even going to be here in five years," he told me.

"Where is it going to go?" I asked him. "Do you think it's going to be taken over by another country?"

"I think we'll have started moving to Mars by then," he said. "I keep hearing on the television about how they want to move us all to Mars."

Anyway. I suppose "every little bit helps," as they say, and I will do my civic duty and continue to sell Obama over the phone, but... it wasn't quite the exciting political experience I was hoping for.

Still, I'll be able to tell my grandchildren.