It’s Ne-VAD-ah, not Ne-VAH-da

I had the privilege of making three new friends this past weekend and joining them in an effort of common purpose: helping to elect Sen. Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States.
Given that California is regarded as a state expected to go blue this Nov. 4th, Obama supporters have been encouraged to help in neighboring states that are tossups, including Nevada. I have to be careful in writing this post not to reveal any campaign trade secrets or write anything that could reflect badly on the Obama campaign, so no Sarah Palin or “McCain is so old…” jokes here.
I set out early Friday afternoon with three Obama supporters I’d never met before, but by the end of the weekend we had bonded well. Passengers in my car for our trip to Reno were Laurie Terrat, a career counselor from just outside Los Gatos, Sarita Johnson, a gynecologist from Saratoga, and Gary Tang, a Stanford student from Palo Alto going for his PhD.

(L-R, Laurie, Gary and Sarita)

On the long drive to Reno, including through a rainstorm on the dark and windy roads through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, we shared our stories of why we are Democrats, why we support Obama and our view of the campaign so far. The vice presidential debate had been broadcast the night before so we had plenty of fresh material to discuss. I also regaled the passengers who hadn’t seen “The Daily Show” or “The Colbert Report” with lines from the comedians’ sarcastic take on politics. Stephen Colbert: “We don’t cling to our guns, we shoot them. THEN we cling to them because they’re so warm!”
Early Saturday morning we gathered at a temporary Obama headquarters in Reno and as soon as I arrived I understood why the campaign rented a warehouse! A block long line of volunteers snaked around the parking lot and down the street waiting to sign up to help register voters and canvas neighborhoods looking to identify Obama supporters. Besides getting information on how to canvas neighborhoods and register new voters, we were given one important piece of advice: It’s pronounced Ne-VAD-ah, not Ne-VAH-da, so as not to alienate voters of the state we were visiting.
My friends and I were dispatched to neighborhoods in nearby Sparks, a few miles down I-80 from Reno, and started knocking on doors. Although we did find a few McCain supporters, a few undecideds and a few doors closed in our faces, we were always heartened by the smiles and enthusiasm from voters happy to tell us they were voting for Obama.
Even in casual encounters with people we heard encouragement about Obama. I had dinner in a restaurant in the casino/hotel in which we were staying and when I paid my bill, the waitress noticed my Obama buttons. I gave her one of them and a couple at one of the tables behind me in the restaurant showed their support. The man shook my hand and thanked me and the other volunteers for their efforts.

(L-R: Gary, Sarita, Laurie and Robert
at Obama HQ gathering)

We worked from 10 o’clock Saturday morning until 4 in the afternoon going from house to house and, let me tell you, there is no such thing as “comfortable shoes.” While exhausted, we were reenergized by meeting hundreds of other supporters at a pot luck supper put on by the campaign at the warehouse. Many other volunteers also traveled from California, a mix of college students, boomers and many in between, all motivated by the prospect of the change that only Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden can bring to this country.

Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) addresses
Obama volunteers at a Reno rally, Sun. Oct. 5)

Sunday, we made one more canvas before driving back to Silicon Valley. We got a sendoff at a Reno grocery store parking lot pep rally from Gov. Janet Napolitano, Democrat of Arizona, who was making campaign visits to Nevada on behalf of the Obama campaign. Gary, who was raised in Arizona, was among many getting their photos taken with the governor.

Gary Tang with Gov. Napolitano

Nevada went for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 but the latest polls show the state is “leaning Obama” and Laurie, Sarita, Gary and I hope we have helped turn it blue.

UPDATE: Here's an interesting take on the Obama campaign in Nevada from Salon.