I'm volunteering with the Douglas County Wisconsin Kerry/Edwards campaign (Superior in the NW corner of the state) and our office opened last weekend. There was NOTHING in the space. Everything--desks, chairs, telephones,computers, paper clips, toilet paper--is being solicited through donations. My first act as a volunteer was to drive to Goodwill and load up my van with as many desks and chairs as would fit, then off to K-Mart (NOT Wal-Mart!!!) for bathroom supplies. Total contribution: only $50, but I must say it was a thousand times more gratifying to donate in this fashion as opposed to mailing in a check.

Given this state of affairs I was forced to ponder the stories of the national campaign putting up reporters in four-star hotels and so forth. I mean we've had a severe shortage of yard signs for months now, and until very recently we've been getting our ASSES kicked by Bush in the yard sign wars. And this is in a county that will go for Kerry 65-70%. Maybe somebody can help me understand the dynamics behind the wealth of resources at the national level versus their absence at the local level.

But I don't want to harp on this too much. I'm not sour on the campaign or anything. I'm at war. Our goal is to bring in Douglas County for Kerry by a 10,000 vote margin, which hasn't been done  by a democrat here since Johnson in '64. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but as most of you probably know, Gore only won the state by 5,700 votes last time.

BTW, this is my first post. I've been a "lurker" at Kos for quite awhile now, and I want to say that it has been a joy for me to find a community of like-minded people. Cheers to all of you. Let's gear up for victory on 11/2!!