Austin Improv

Wow, my jaw dropped this past Saturday when I innocently tuned to NPR.
They were airing their lastest episode about how the candidates were getting voters through volunteers in Pennysylvania. McCain needs this state to win.

To some in Pennysylvania Obama's still a terrorist and a muslim, but the real reasons get said.

He's black.
And even accused of being gay, a cocaine user, and even a murderer.

You gotta here this one and pass it on; it's just so despicable you have to.

This American Life

*****Summary*****
367: Ground Game

This American Life goes to Pennsylvania, a battleground within a battleground, to figure out why, and how, John McCain and Barack Obama both think they can win there. And we get to know the ordinary people who’ve become the candidates’ most forceful foot soldiers.

The online versions of this episode contain a slighter expanded version of Sarah Koenig's story about Obama volunteers registering students to vote, and an entire extra act at the end of the show. This last act couldn't fit into the broadcast version of the show because of time considerations. It's an aircheck from Steve Corbett's talk radio show at WILK-FM, in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton.

Pictured: Sonya Naugle, a Sarah Palin look-alike. Host Ira Glass interviewed Sonya at the Republican National Convention—you can listen to that interview here.

Prologue.
Host Ira Glass goes to a McCain rally in Lehigh, PA, outside of Allentown. Obama has double-digit leads over McCain in almost every poll. So why does McCain still think he has a shot? (5 minutes)

Act One. Scranton.

In Scranton, there's a "Citizens for McCain" office. But really, it's a "Democrats for McCain" office; flipping Democrats is vital if McCain is going to win. Producer Nancy Updike spent some time with these anti-Obama Democrats, who apparently have a message that's pitch perfect for their fellow disgruntled party members. (7 minutes)

Act Two. State College.

While McCain gathers stray Democrats, Obama is trying to find new ones—in the reddest part of the state. To do that, his campaign has launched enormous registration drives, especially among college students. Producer Sarah Koenig followed registration workers around State College, home to Penn State University, to see how they were doing. (12 minutes)

Act Three. Union Halls.

No one much likes to talk about it out loud, but everyone knows it's true: There are a lot of people out there who say they won't vote for Obama because he's black. To fight this problem, Richard Trumka, secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO, has been traveling around the country giving a speech to fellow union members. It ends with a plea: You must stand up, and deal with race directly. Talk about it. Producer Lisa Pollak spent a month hanging out with union members, eavesdropping on their conversations, to see if Trumka's directive was working. (17 1/2 minutes)

Act Four. State College, Part Two.

We continue our story about voter registration in State College, where there are only a few days left until the registration deadline. (5 1/2 minutes)

Act Five. Scranton, Part Two.

Nancy Updike's story about Democrats for McCain continues. (6 1/2 minutes)

Song: "Allentown," Berlin Voices

I'm neither black nor a girl (but someone who went to school in PA) and there's easily a dozen things covered in this segment that miff me. I caught part of this over the weekend - but thanks for posting it so I could hear the whole thing.

....Can't wait for this election to be over. I know it won't solve all these problems - but it's a step in the right direction.

To me, this episode very accurately captured the feeling I had as a volunteer.

4 years ago I took several months out of my life to move back to my home town in Michigan and volunteer for the Kerry campaign. I did pretty much everything they covered in the show, from registering voters, to talking to people door to door, to working at a phone bank calling people at their homes. I found it to be very difficult, and I was surprised at how strong and vitriolic peopls' opinions could be. My personal worst experience was over the phone. As I started to explain why I was calling, the woman on the other end screamed "Family Values!," three times at the top of her lungs and then slammed down the phone.

The truth is we naturally try to find and form peer groups where we can hopefully find consensus. It can be very disconcerting to venture outside of that safety. And with campaigns, especially recently, those differences have been isolated, stoked and taken advantage of, rather than respected as reasonable differences of opinion. I found the passions and prejudices to be disconcerting even between two Yale Educated white guys. I can only imagine what the people volunteering for both Hillary Clinton and Obama must have had to contend with.