Barack Obama, during an unplanned stop, works the phones
Barack Obama had reason to be proud and pleased Saturday with the work of his on-the-ground campaign in Missouri. A rally in St. Louis drew an estimated 100,000 people; a similar event later in the day across the state in Kansas City attracted about 75,000 (more details available here).
So it made sense that between the two events, he would drop by one of his campaign offices (at right).
Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico.com was the media "pool" reporter for the excursion, and she relates that Obama "thanked volunteers and spoke with about two dozen voters on the phone. He also ate a slice of sweet potato pie –- yes, pie."
Brown filed more, and since it speaks for itself, we pass it along as she wrote it:
“We only got two more weeks,” Obama told the volunteers. “So we got to work tirelessly. We can’t let up at all. Just run right through the tape.”
“It would be fun to win Missouri, wouldn’t it?” he added.
He arrived at the office shortly after 4 p.m. local time, and greeted more than a dozen volunteers who were assembled around several tables, hunched over lists of voter names with phones pressed to their ears. The volunteers rose to their feet and applauded.
“I am so proud of what you guys are doing. This is the lifeblood of this campaign,” Obama said. “It is what makes all the difference in the world. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”
He then asked the volunteers to get a few undecided voters on the phone. Many of the calls went down like this one: When Karen Puhr, 58, a Democrat and volunteer since June, got a voter on the line, she told the voter that Obama was in the office and wanted to chat.
“Yes he is here, and he wants to talk to someone,” Puhr said to the voter. “I am not kidding you, I am serious. Here he is.”
Obama, who was standing close by, took the phone ...





