George,

Today the volunteers rolled in from all over the East. Licenses from Maryland, DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Ohio filled the Obama HQ parking lot. Paid staff people gave orientation sessions to the volunteers in groups of 20. After that, we teamed up with another person, received our maps and voter lists, and headed to our assigned neighborhoods. Yesterday, in addition to stand-alone houses, we had several apartment houses on our list. Today, we visited 90 stand-alone houses and found 65 people committed to Obama and 6 for Clinton.

None of our teams encountered any Clinton volunteers or canvassers. Some of the local volunteers had received Clinton mailers and also phone calls from someone reading a script. Obama’s approach to “reach out and touch someone” is sure effective in our neighborhoods. We’re hearing his message of hope and change reflected back to us by the people we’re visiting.

We’ve met so many warm and hospitable people these two days--grandmothers, fathers, union workers, mothers--people who opened their doors and hearts to speak to a couple of volunteers trudging through the snow.

Grant Tate (Electronic mail, March 1, 2008)

Editor's Note: See Grant's first letter from the ground in Ohio