Leah O'Donovan

My friend Meghan posted the comment “More bloggy-blogs please. I miss them. Gracias.” This is because, obviously, I haven’t written in about a week. Well, gosh darn it I haven’t had a whole lot to say recently. Shocking, I know. So, I found something I think I’ll write a little about: people with no life.

I have a blog (duh) but it does not encompass my life. I like writing it when I have something to say or the time to do it. I also like Barack Obama and have joined his campaign. (there is a link here, promise) Continuing on my whole YouTube changing politics rant of the past couple of months, I’d like to address the issue of members of the my.barackobama.com site. This is a site within the Obama for President site where members, such as myself, can post blog entries, sign up for fundraising events, sign up for events near them and make contact with groups of Obama supporters near them. Governor Howard Dean, who I worked for in 2003, had a similar set up then and somewhat championed the grassroots movement. It’s now been taken to a whole other level with the onset of YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, blogs etc and this is a prime example.

It appears to me that some people have way too much time on their hands. I joined the London for Barack Obama group but nothing much has come of it…until a week or so ago. Someone sent an email to the group, and thus me, indicating they would be in London and Paris on a sightseeing visit soon and wanted to meet up with any supporter who was willing to take pictures/video with him to be posted on YouTube. How very sad I say. I like Obama just as much as the next guy but for goodness sake can’t you think of something better to do on your holiday? I don’t know, I just found it kind of sad and did not reply. In fact, I don’t think anyone has. He did want to take photos around tourist sites such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge but I’m willing to bet he wanted to make some reference to Obama so it could go on YouTube. Sigh, some people.

I’m all for getting involved in politics but I think there is a limit. Taking a picture of yourself at a tourist site in London to post on YouTube is not going to get Obama elected. Some people, it would seem to me, have no life. Some might say the same about the staffers on these Presidential campaigns, giving up time and often money to work for their candidate. The difference, however, is you’re on the ground in key states such as New Hampshire or Iowa where you can make a real difference and possibly influence voters. Posting videos or pictures on YouTube is not really doing your part. Try canvassing a neighbourhood for a good five or six hours and getting doors slammed in your face. Or try cold-calling voters and having them yell expletives at you and slam the phone down on you. That’s getting involved in politics. Simply posting photos on YouTube or blogging on your candidate’s site is not going to influence voters nearly as well as getting into the real work on a campaign. That’s my thought for the day. Hope you’ve enjoyed it Meghan.