On the Road, On the Ground

Given the attention I've been paying to the ground game, I'm really excited for this.

Five Thirty Eight is headed for the open road. We may have built a reputation for the numbers, but don’t be fooled: there is poetry in our souls. We are in the middle of an epic election, and for the final eight weeks we’ll be bringing you not only an intense daily polling menu, but also the story of the battleground states’ ground game.

You deserve that – you love this country just as much as we do, so consider it the least we could offer. At the end of this important day of remembrance, in the starry-dark Reno bare-mountain night, we’re officially posting notice of our series to come.

The story of the organizer and volunteer effort is one that needs to be told. It was much underreported in 2004 just how potently the Bush ground campaign organized. Say what you want about his governance – and we all have – but his competitive fire was lit for the election race. Republicans turned their voters out. Who’s got more heart this time? Missouri boys say: Show-Me.

538 has been dead-on in describing the ground game for everyone, so I have no doubt they'll do a great job. I hope they are also going to take a close look at the McCain campaign's ground game, the constant voter suppression efforts that we'll see between now and November. But the Obama ground game has the potential to be massive and really game-changing. In Southern California we've called over 200,000 voters in Nevada over the past two weeks alone. The goal is 4 million and it will be met.

I should also add that volunteering for the election is really energizing and makes you feel like you're making a difference, so I recommend it wholeheartedly.