What you say about inexperienced kids running the show is true at local ACT offices as well as the party offices. Political campaigns are training grounds for people who later go on to run other things, when in fact the parties and the 527s should be recruiting seasoned management pros to plan and adminster things. The soft skills (getting the message out to swingers and motivating the core) are usually handled well by the kids, but money and time wasted on lack of uniform training, misplaced priorities and badly planned canvass routes.

We are, however, too far along to make a change in organizational structure. The best approach is to offer yourself as a resource, make suggestions and perform your limited role as best you can. Training is a great area to focus on, since your efforts are then multipled as more people will do things well. I love the fact that you are getting the word out that a couple extra minutes spent to register a new voter is time well spent. Voter reg, especially in those states with early deadlines, is essential.

Thanks for your excellent diaries on this, Go Veg. Three cheers to you ... and to everyone else who is actually working in the trenches in the swing states, especially if you don't live here!