The Left Mark: Guest Post - A Game of Inches

The following post was written by a friend of mine named Ben Geyerhahn who is currently working for the Kerry campaign as part of the advance staff in Pennsylvania.

A Game of Inches - By Ben Geyerhahn

I am working hard for Kerry Edwards in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and it is not sexy. As Advance Staff, I work with surrogates, building round and town hall discussions, and angling for press. The work is hard and not particularly sexy, but very satisfying. It also gives me a close look at the political war that is being waged.

The politics we see on television and in the movies is the excitement of message positioning and inside deals. Addicted watchers of the West Wing love the hard-nosed politics of message and leveraging of political relationships. Although that world exists, it ignores the real work of politics in the modern age. In the absence of vibrant community organizations like the Kiwanis, bowling leagues, and the drift away from social organization detailed by Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, reaching the electorate means reaching individuals not groups of common interest. Success in the political world means building a powerful organization that will deliver voters to the polls on Election Day. I was fortunate to enter the political world at a relatively high level, and I understand that everyone wants to contribute at a level equal to his or her experience, but this race will be won on the ground.

I believe we face the most important election of our lives, and I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that this election will be won on the ground. Convincing the slim margin of voters who are undecided, and perhaps more importantly assuring that the millions of newly registered Democratic voters actually vote is critical to putting a Democrat in the White House. Indeed, I believe that newly registered Democratic voters could make the difference in this election. The volunteers who convince these undecided and new voters to come to the polls and who actually bring these voters to the polls on Election Day will be the difference in this campaign. Although these volunteers are at the bottom of the campaign structure they will be the most important.

Anyone interested in having a real impact in this presidential election should volunteer to knock on doors and call voters. If Democrats commit to spending a few days in battleground states doing this backbreaking work, it will make a critical difference. I encourage any committed Democrat to find a way to volunteer to work on the ground. In this game of inches, every volunteer makes a difference.