Booman Tribune

The Sixty-Nine County Strategy

by Omir the Storyteller
Tue Mar 11th, 2008 at 01:19:36 AM EST

As I write this, the announcement of results in Mississippi is less than 24 hours away. Barack Obama is expected to win, making his record 15-2 since Super Tuesday.

But once we get past Mississippi, Pennsylvania looms large on the horizon. It's a tough state, and Obama's opponent Hillary Clinton is favored to win that contest. Pundits have been saying that Obama needs to win one of the big states, to take something away from Hillary (Texas notwithstanding, I guess).

I have an idea how he can do it.

The genius of Obama's campaign has so far been to contest every state, something Democrats have not done for far too long. The results are incontrovertible; more states than Clinton, more popular votes than Clinton, and a delegate lead that will be in all practical terms impossible to overcome.

And still the media soldiers on, pretending this race isn't all over but the shouting.

It seems to me that if Obama can make significant headway in Pennsylvania, he can seriously dent Clinton's possible delegate pickup, or even -- dare we imagine it? -- get more delegates than she does. Yeah, I know, it sounds impossible, and maybe it is, but here's the best chance he has of doing so.

Obama currently has a pretty substantial war chest and more money is coming in all the time. I'm not saying he should spend all of it, but in my opinion he should . . . well, there are 69 counties in Pennsylvania, and I believe he should bring in organizers to every single one of them. Someone who lives in the area would be preferable, and undoubtedly you could find and train organizers in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and places like Erie and Scranton. Native Pennsylvanians would be second best; someone from State College going up to Smethport would probably be a bit more credible than a random outsider, but if necessary, I have little doubt that the campaign could find volunteers to come in, take training, and spread out around Pennsylvania, maybe getting a bit of a stipend or per diem for their trouble.

And what would these new organizers be doing?

Knocking on doors. Setting up house parties. Speaking to organizations. Coordinating volunteers. Standing out in the middle of the town square with a placard. Their job would be the same as any organizer's anywhere -- to spread the word about Barack Obama and his message of hope, and then get people out to the polls to vote for him.

Wouldn't something like this be expensive? Maybe, but think of it this way. So far, as I said above, Obama has won with a strategy that puts fifty states in play. Now he needs to do the same thing, writ small, in Pennsylvania. For every 2% he can cut into Clinton's lead in Pennsylvania, that's 3 more delegates he gains at the National Convention. (That's rough math and not to be taken completely literally; but the more support his organizers can generate, the better he does in the vote. How much better, you can ask Chuck Todd to figure out.)

In fact, if he could cut down Hillary's lead in the rural areas of the state, and maintain his own support in the urban areas (which would of course have their own set of organizers) -- I suppose it's not impossible he could win outright. Likely? Who knows, but isn't it worth a few measly million to find out?

Then if he can do the same thing in Kentucky, in Indiana, in other states where Clinton is slated to do well . . . well, every delegate he generates is one more toward the magic number of 2025.

Could Clinton do the same thing? I suppose so, but she doesn't have the message and she can't raise money the way Obama can. The things she has going for her right at the moment are inertia, a willingness to win at any cost, and the realization that if she loses Pennsylvania or comes out of Pennsylvania with only a two or three delegate pickup, it's all over. That makes her dangerous -- but I think Obama is up for the task.

So since Obama's advisors don't have any idea who I am and probably wouldn't notice me if they did, here's hoping they come up with this idea on their own. Make every single county in Pennsylvania competitive. Blacken the sky over Pennsylvania with organizers. Make it happen! Yes we can!!



Display:
Not that I need tips or anything, but it's traditional.

Please offer your own ideas, or alternatively, feel free to post your own version of "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

The avalanche has started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote. -- Ambassador Kosh

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Tue Mar 11th, 2008 at 01:28:16 AM EST
There's a bad Spitzer joke in there somewhere but it might not be safe to engage in such activities...

The Underground Railroad
by Oscar In Louisville on Wed Mar 12th, 2008 at 06:19:03 PM EST
Obama's greatest asset is his own presence.  He needs to visit the small towns and cities of central Pennsylvania and see what is going on there.  And listen.  Being able to swing Appalachia could be one of many strategies for the general election.

Personable.  That would be the word.

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

by TarheelDem (editor@thepartielion.com) on Wed Mar 12th, 2008 at 08:04:37 PM EST


Display:
Go to: [ Booman Tribune Homepage : Top of page : Top of comments ]
Menu
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password





Proud member of

The Liberal Blog Network

a FeedBurner Network


Advertise in The Liberal Blog Network

Subscribe to this network

A-List Blogger

Find textbooks at Alibris!

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Support the Wilsons and buy Val's book:

Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House
by Valerie Wilson

New from W. Patrick Lang:

The Butcher's Cleaver: A Tale of the Confederate Secret Services by W. Patrick Lang

ManEegee recommends:

The Devil's Highway: A True Story
by Luis Alberto Urrea

Some good history:

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
by Tim Weiner

What's going on in Iraq:

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone
by Raji Chandrasekaran.

On BooMan’s shelf:

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End
by Peter W. Galbraith

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES

Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos
by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.


SOTW-120x90
Download Sleeper Cell on iTunes (Better than "24") Download Weeds on iTunes (Hilarious 1/2-hour adult comedy starring Mary-Louise Parker) Download Late Nite with Conan O'Brien on iTunes
John Belushi - SNL
Download South Park on iTunes
Verve Vault

James Hunter - People Gonna Talk:
James Hunter - People Gonna Talk
icon


Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")



Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)


Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)


"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen


The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review


BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual

$79.95 * Sale: $59.95


Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)


The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!


The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan


Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----


Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review


Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey


1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus



Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"


Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)


The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids

by Madeline Levine


Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com

:





We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Alibris - Books You Thought You'd Never Find
Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:
www.Patagonia.com



Booman Tribune Homepage
admin@boomantribune.com
powered by Scoop

A-List Blogger

Blogarama - The Blog Directory

More blogs about Blogs at Technorati.

Headlines from the Progressive 

Blogosphere
Provided by First Sustainable
Add this box to your site
Add your feed to this box

Listed on BlogShares

© 2007 Booman Tribune