Four Days??!!?!

It is official. Election Day is around the corner.

Being in a swing state is fun and exciting. It sure beats seeing it all on the tube in New York. Sure, we're working around the clock to get out the vote, but it makes it hard when there are so many visits by the candidates. Yeah, I'm kvetching, but I'm not being a Yenta about this - I'm just stating a fact. It just feels crazy in these last days, trying to balance between crowd building for events and knocking on doors - and we all know that knocking on doors is going to be the most important thing.

I shall refrain from any anti-Red Sox statements here. Congratulations, BeanTown, now stop bitching and whining about not winning. I'm cool with them winning every 97 years or so. But well met, good work.

Now, onto the exciting stuff.

So we found out two days ago that John Edwards was coming into Indianola today. Neeeeat. That's why I haven't really been keeping up on my blog, but hell, you'd rather have me get them elected, right? So, here's the highlights from today.

We heard that the event would be John Edwards, our own AFSCME International President, Gerald McEntee, and none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Talk about a random mix. But we were excited, nonetheless. Then - yesterday, we found out Jon Bon Jovi would be added to the mix. Hell yes.

So we quickly do some crowd building in order to hit our 500, but it was on the side of doing walks and phonecalls. But it ended up being an incredible event for many reasons.

For one, we did a pretty good job, if I can say so, in visibility. If you watch the news or look at the pictures, you will see AFSCME green and AFSCME signs all behind the stage. Hell, I didn't learn nuthin' from my McCall days. Visibility, visibility, visibility. It's a mantra for field folks. And it sure felt good looking out upon that crowd of 3,000+ and seeing AFSCME green in every pocket.

Two, the advance girl for the event was awesome. Her mother is a 34 year AFSCME member running for office in Nebraska. So she took extra good care of us. Yeehaw.

Three, it was a fun event. Good way to get motivated for the final days.

And four, I stood directly behind the stage and basically got a very good view of Bon Jovi's butt. Hey, sometimes we get some perks on the trail.

The signs are all around that we are in the fight of our lives - and Iowa is, as I have mentioned before, becoming increasingly important as we head towards Tuesday. It is, as President McEntee said, "the eye of the storm." And I am fortunate and glad to be here, exhaustion aside.

Perhaps you've noticed I haven't mentioned Mr. Titanic yet. Well, I'm a bit confused because as an actor, I assumed he'd be pretty good. But he was fairly lackluster and read from a script. C'mon. Sure, he's come a long way from his Growing Pains days, but I'm sure he could have at least learned his speech before he got up there. Might have made him more effective.

Of course, no one in the crowd was really paying attention to that. Especially the girl who was jumping up and down manically and yelling, "Leo! Leo!"

Turns out he was a diva. Much like Sharon Stone, but that's another story for another time (Yes, Sharon Stone was here in Iowa, and no I did not meet her. I met someone much better instead - Roberta Flack). Anyhoo...

So as I get ready to pack up and leave surprisingly early tonight (gotta catch the time while ya can out here), I leave you with the following pictures from today's rally. In two days, we'll be rallying with Senator Kerry, Jon Bon Jovi, and Ashton Kutcher. Yes, Kutch. Bring the Boss! Either way, we're pleased. It was a good day, indeed.


Here is President McEntee as he pumps up the crowd. My action shots we a little blurry, but I like this image, so deal with it.


Here is the back of Leonardo DiCaprio. Yes, he has grown up a lot, but to me, he still looks like a prepubescent boy with facial hair. But I admit, he's still a good looking lad.


Senator Harkin and Governor Vilsack motivate the crowd. They rock. Seriously. I heart them.


Bon Jovi, baby! He played three songs including "Living on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive."


Here's a decent shot. Yes, I have pictures of him from behind. All we want to know is what kind of squats he does so that we can thank whomever taught him them. I will dump them into the photoalbum to the left when I get a chance.

And finally...

John Edwards. I heart him. And I managed to get one of his waters on the stage after the event. I was thirsty, man. Our awesome advance lady gave it to me. Suhweet.