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Why Obama Staffers Are Secretly Worried, and Other Dispatches from the Campaign Trail
The Daily Beast ^ | October 26, 2008 | Paul Alexander

Posted on 10/26/2008 2:43:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

This week, Barack Obama has shown clear signs that he is confident he is going to win. But privately, top Obama leadership are still worried that Republicans might be able to pull off another improbable election night victory.

Last week, in closed-to-the-press meetings, Obama officials briefed major donors about their concerns heading into the election’s final stretch. One of those meetings took place in Austin, Texas—a city in the solid red state of Texas that has raised a surprisingly large amount of money for Obama, mostly from the city’s high-tech community.

In Texas and other states, Obama officials are preparing for the possibility that polls may be wildly off because of the so-called Bradley effect.

“The Obama officials are very cautious,” says an attendee at the Austin meeting. “They want comfortable margins in place just in case. They are looking at three to six percentage points as a possible Bradley effect. Before they consider a state comfortable, they want it outside the polling margins. They think the Bradley effect could be as large as six—maybe even seven—percentage points, but they don’t really know.”

Another major concern of the campaign is what they consider to be voter suppression. “The Obama leadership believes there is a systematic campaign,” says the attendee, “by the White House and the Justice Department to suppress voter turnout across the country.”

To counteract the Bradley effect and potential voter suppression, the Obama leadership has amassed one of the largest legal teams ever assembled by a presidential campaign. The main goal of the legal team, almost all of them volunteers, is to guarantee ballot security. “The Obama campaign has learned the lessons of 2000 and 2004,” my source says. “On Election Day, lawyers will be everywhere—all the way down to the county level.

Obama officials point to the government’s treatment of ACORN, the nationwide association of community organizations, as an example of possible voter suppression. The campaign has never relied on ACORN for its voter registration drives, according to Obama officials, and is viewed as only one of many venders hired by the campaign. Of the $605 million raised by the Obama campaign so far, only $800,000 has gone to ACORN—a number that could be much larger, and would have been had the campaign relied on it more heavily.

But perhaps the most important asset the Obama campaign has is an army of workers estimated to be as large as 100,000 nationwide. Some paid staffers, mostly volunteers, the workers are being spread out across the country to states the Obama campaign is targeting. For example, 5,000 workers based in Texas—a state Obama doesn’t expect to win—are being relocated to New Mexico, a state Obama believe he can win.

Obama workers will be flooding into other battleground states in the waning days of the presidential race, among them Colorado, Nevada, and Ohio—perhaps even Georgia and Montana. What is impressive about this sizable operation is its very organization. By Election Day, campaign officials believe, they may have the most extensive grass-roots organization of any presidential campaign in history. (two additional articles on pages 2 & 3 at link)


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Colorado; US: Georgia; US: Montana; US: Nevada; US: New Mexico; US: Ohio; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2008; 2008polls; acorn; antichrist; bds; conspiracy; election; elections; mccain; obama; polling; polls; votefraud; voterfraud
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
To counteract the Bradley effect and potential voter suppression, the Obama leadership has amassed one of the largest legal teams ever assembled by a presidential campaign.

Oh. Underemployed lawyers of the Trial Lawyer's Association?

121 posted on 10/26/2008 7:32:37 PM PDT by Alia
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To: swift15

Godlessness


122 posted on 10/26/2008 7:41:46 PM PDT by Harrius Magnus (LIBERALS: We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.)
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To: swift15
what allows otherwise normal-looking people to go out of their way to help in the destruction of our country?

Maybe they are just pre-casing your home to see if it's the one house they'd like to live in if Obama gets elected. Or, maybe they are psuedo Santas deciding which house gets torched if Obama loses.

I gave up wondering about these lefty "nicey" people long ago while I was in Berkeley, and learning about how much Marxists love to play dress-up.

I'm sure if Obama had promoted a uniform, they'd have shown up at your door in uniform.

123 posted on 10/26/2008 7:43:40 PM PDT by Alia
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To: Sun

Well, a little over a week before the election, my husband NEVER received his absentee ballot (from FL) I had to wait until I got an address for him so it was requested the beginning of October. It should have arrived by now....

I wonder if a ‘rat in the SofE’s office tossed his request?

He’s gotten all the other mail and packages we’ve sent.


124 posted on 10/26/2008 7:47:15 PM PDT by GatorGirl (Election 2008--It's all about the judges!!)
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To: GatorGirl

“I wonder if a ‘rat in the SofE’s office tossed his request?”

I wouldn’t be surprised, especially if they know he’s a Republican.


125 posted on 10/26/2008 7:56:08 PM PDT by Sun (Pray that God sends us good leaders. Please say a prayer now.)
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To: Diogenesis

ZACHARY !!!!


126 posted on 10/26/2008 11:06:29 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Obama, WHO is Bill Ayers and WHY are you still friends with him? Please RSVP asap!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; PhilDragoo; devolve; potlatch

bump !!!!


127 posted on 10/26/2008 11:07:35 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Obama, WHO is Bill Ayers and WHY are you still friends with him? Please RSVP asap!)
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To: WKL815
I think it might be the Karl Marx effect, or the Rezco effect, or the Bill Ayers effect, or the Joe the Plumber effect, or the (fill in the blank) effect.
128 posted on 10/26/2008 11:13:00 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Democracy, two wolves and one sheep deciding what's for dinner.)
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To: AZLiberty

All they need is that “proof” thing and they will get the rest of the Democrats to believe it.

What am I saying, they don’t need proof.


129 posted on 10/26/2008 11:16:07 PM PDT by Kickass Conservative (Democracy, two wolves and one sheep deciding what's for dinner.)
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To: MeekOneGOP
By "the Bradley effect" do they mean that thing where Obama-matons carve a "B" in your cheek?

Oh, no, wait, that "B" is for "Big Brother"--got it.

Who's going to tell the truth to lying pollsters and risk an IRS audit come the Enabling Act of 1933.

Are there really that many Jonestown Kool-Aid drinkers.

130 posted on 10/27/2008 12:00:21 AM PDT by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The Article doesn't say when these "volunteers" will be issued their Brown Shirts.

What's up with that?

131 posted on 10/27/2008 12:31:15 AM PDT by happygrl (we are all plumbers now!)
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To: PhilDragoo

“B” for BUMP !!!!


132 posted on 10/27/2008 6:59:42 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Obama, WHO is Bill Ayers and WHY are you still friends with him? Please RSVP asap!)
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To: Kenny Bunk; Shermy

The odd thing is why would someone like Obama enthusiastically join a Church like Wright’s.

My feeling is political expediency and peer pressure from Michelle and Oprah, and an opportunity to establish his black bonafides.

It’s hard to imagine that sitting in that congregation for so many years, and not imbibing some of that philosophy.

However, here in Obamastan, it’s hard for me to avoid a feeling of dread, particularly in regard to Biden’s comments.

I hope the internals have some validity; for example, I have, in order not to lose some longtime friends, have publicly capitulated to the messiah’s side.

A friend, a longtime Republican, in order to preserve his marriage and his daughter’s affections, has told me of his support for the anointed one. I hope he’s lying, I am.

Anyway, early voting results from places like MA may give us an indication if there’s wholesale lying going on.

Well, on the bright side, Obama’s election will give us the fastest case of buyer’s remorse, as there is NO WAY he can satisfy and satiate all the expectations from all the groups supporting him.

Even drinking to excess doesn’t help!


133 posted on 10/27/2008 10:06:06 AM PDT by swarthyguy
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To: george76
I spend a lot of time on the gun-oriented boards, and the only gun owner I've seen who is for Obama is from Austin. Then again, he's an idiot on other subjects, too.
134 posted on 10/27/2008 11:06:52 AM PDT by ozzymandus
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To: Terry Mross
Texas may be a red state but Austin couldn’t get any more blue. Blue-er?
It's not completely blue more of a deep, deep purple. We still have Camp Mabry.
135 posted on 10/27/2008 11:48:37 AM PDT by gingeroni
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To: PhilDragoo; devolve; potlatch

I have so many people telling me it’s gonna be Obama, sheesh and barf!

My response??:

I tell them that I am convinced that the OVERPOLLING of
Democraps by the Pollsters are giving the Media the results
they are lookin’ for.

I mean, my gosh! Some polls are overpolling Democraps
over Republicans by as much as TEN POINTS and have Obozo
up by 9 or 10 points. What other results could there be?!?!
That it’s McCain by THREE?? Yeah, right !!

And then I tell them that when they read the newspapers or
watch the TV News, that they are in the tank for Obama of
course since they ALWAYS favor the Democrap candidate. I.E.,
the media ALWAYS tries to do all they can for the ‘RATS !!


136 posted on 10/27/2008 10:14:45 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Obama, WHO is Bill Ayers and WHY are you still friends with him? Please RSVP asap!)
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To: swarthyguy; PhilDragoo; devolve
I hope the internals have some validity; for example, I have, in order not to lose some longtime friends, have publicly capitulated to the messiah’s side.

A friend, a longtime Republican, in order to preserve his marriage and his daughter’s affections, has told me of his support for the anointed one. I hope he’s lying, I am.

- - - - - - - - -

The great thing about living in Texas is that when you support a Conservative candidate, you have a LOT of folks on your side. It's great living in a place where ALL statewide offices are held by the GOP.

My brother lives in Flagstaff, AZ in the heart of the Liberal Lala Land. I sent him two bumper-stickers this week:

NOBAMA '08
No to Obama, Socialism & Retreat

I'm Voting for Sarah!
McCain-Palin for America '08

He said he'll put the Sarah bumper sticker on his truck.

He said he'll put the NOBAMA bumper sticker over someone's Obama sticker and see how long before the poor fool's tires are slashed !!!

Oh, man...

137 posted on 10/27/2008 10:30:21 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Obama, WHO is Bill Ayers and WHY are you still friends with him? Please RSVP asap!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

THE WHITE HOUSE? They won’t even defend themselves!


138 posted on 10/27/2008 10:32:18 PM PDT by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: Fiddlstix; Arthur Wildfire! March; y'all

Meant to include you in that post.

There is some “economic justice” that even I can appreciate!

:)


139 posted on 10/27/2008 10:39:23 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Obama, WHO is Bill Ayers and WHY are you still friends with him? Please RSVP asap!)
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To: MeekOneGOP

Bump!


140 posted on 10/28/2008 3:53:54 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (We can win the economic meltdown debate: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2115485/posts)
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