[5] canvas

I went off to canvas for the Obama campaign yesterday, because I've got a president to get re-elected here (if I could do it by sheer will I would, but unfortunately things like this require more), and as I predicted (maybe only to myself, but I did nonetheless), it was much more fun than phone banking.

(I hate telephones.)

"It's like Trick-or-Treating for adults!" I said, skipping up to doors.

But people don't seem to answer their doors very often. "How is this even possible?" I complained to the older lawyer who showed up for canvassing at the same time and thus ended up going door to door with me. "How do you not even come to the door? We know you are there. What has the world come to, that people just blatantly ignore a ringing doorbell? It's so rude. This wouldn't happen in [the Mitten]."

(Actually, we were not canvassing to convince people to vote for Obama. We were just convincing them to vote, period. When more people vote, Democrats win.)

The most interesting house was one where a middle-aged woman opened the door and said, regarding the girl we were trying to find, "That's my daughter. She's not voting." 

"What do you mean, she's not voting?" I asked. 

"I don't know. She says she's not voting," the woman said, shrugging hopelessly.

"Why?"

"I don't know," the woman said. "I tried."

"I'm not voting!" a voice called from inside the house. "It's not important!"

"It is important!" I called back.

"I'm not voting!" the voice said.

"Well, I submitted my ballot," the mom sighed, "and it was for Obama."