Top Obama Staffers Talk to Campaign Volunteers in Richmond; Obama Himself In Town Wednesday

Two of the top officials in the Obama campaign, Betsy Myers and Ertharin Cousin, gave a talk this afternoon to a group of about fifty volunteers at the campaign’s state headquarters in Richmond this afternoon. Myers formerly worked in the Clinton White House as well as directly for Hillary Clinton, and holds a position at the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Cousin is a Chicago native and a long-time veteran of presidential campaigns (this is her sixth). Both were among the first staffers hired by Barack Obama when he launched his presidential bid nearly two years ago.

Myers spoke first. She said that when the campaign started, Barack stressed three things: First, he wanted to run the campaign like a business. That meant being frugal and making sure that money raised went into the ground operation where it would make a difference.

Second, he wanted the campaign to be based on respect and inclusion, so that everyone involved as donors, staffers, and volunteers felt respected and felt like it was their campaign.

Third, he wanted a campaign with no drama—i.e. no interpersonal in-fighting, squabbling, faction-forming.

Myers then stressed that what drew her to the Obama campaign was the style of leadership he practices. Myers said that no matter what policy proposals you forward, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the ability to get them passed. That requires leadership.

So you have to look at the person who has the ability to bring different people together.

She also said that Obama doesn’t budge; he is who he is. He has been the same person all the way through the campaign. In contrast McCain is one way one day and another way the next. Obama has the temperament required to handle the massive changes. He keeps his cool.

When that 3 am call that Hillary Clinton was talking about comes, Myers said, I wanted somebody calm answering the phone. She added that Obama is a great listener and has the capacity to learn from other people which is also important for a leader.

She also cited his selection of Biden and the process by which he made the decision as evidence of his leadership style. He didn’t want a yes man. He surrounds himself with smart, capable people who are not afraid to say what they think.

Myers then stressed that “We can’t listen to the polls.” She recounted the story of being reportedly up 17 in New Hampshire, including up 10 in internal polling, and then losing by 2. With two weeks to go, now is the time to leave no stone unturned.

She closed by reminding the volunteers that there a lot of people out there who are still not engaged. She cited working women holding multiple jobs as an example, people who don’t have time to pay close attention. It’s volunteers’ job to engaged those people.

Second, volunteers act as truth tellers. There is a lot of misinformation about Obama out there, and the campaign is relying on direct voter contact to counter all that.

Cousin then spoke. She started off by talking about the friendships and relationships that get formed in campaigns, including how she had become “girlfriends” with Betsy. She told a story about four women in Nevada who began organizing for the caucuses there a year in advance and became very close friends who look after each other’s children.

She also said that she is used in past campaigns to coming into groups like this and telling volunteers to appreciate that they “aren’t normal,” i.e. most people aren’t in a campaign office on a weekday at lunch making phone calls. But this year, she said, you are normal—people all over the country are engaging in massive numbers.

People believe they own this campaign, and they do. The $150 million that came in in September included 680,000 new donors.

Cousin then discussed some policy issues including Iraq and Afghanistan and the significance of Colin Powell’s endorsement. She also talked about how campaigns get ugly but said that “we have a candidate who refuses to drop to that level.”

In question and answer, it emerged that in the office this week are 6 volunteers who came all the way from London to help out.

One person asked a question about Republican “slime” attacks and the strategy for responding. Cousin pointed out that the campaign now has a rapid-response team capable of responding to false attacks within an hour. She and Myers each stressed though the importance of direct voter contact in counteracting such attacks.

In response to another question, Myers reminded us that when the campaign started, Obama had less than 10% name recognition. But the more people understand who he is and what he stands for, the more they move to our side. In another response, Cousin simply said “this is the leader America needs today.”

Right after the session ended, word came through that Obama will be in Richmond on Wednesday.

As I was leaving, I stopped to pick up a yard sign and heard from a woman living in western Henrico County whose yard sign had been stolen and replaced with a McCain sign. Angered but undeterred, she was back for another sign. That impressed me.

I also had problems getting my sign home, for a different reason. As I was walking home to Byrd Park via Randolph, an elderly woman saw me carrying my sign and asked if I would put in her front yard. I was happy to oblige. Two other cars stopped me and asked where they could pick up a sign of their own.