Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will be in Dubuque on Saturday to walk door-to-door with supporters and help Dubuque-area residents register to vote.
There’ll be similar "Walk for Change" events all across the country, including Obama-organized voter sign-up events in 30 other Iowa cities. "This really is an unprecedented event. It’s the largest, one-day, grassroots organizing drive this early in the history of presidential campaigns," according to Obama. "We’ve got thousands of volunteers from New York to San Diego. They’re going to be going door-to-door in their neighborhoods."
Obama spoke with about 400 supporters around the country via telephone conference call on Thursday. Obama counseled them not to get discouraged if doors are slammed in their faces. "We’re not automatically going to set the world on fire in every neighborhood where you guys are walking," Obama said. "All we’re doing is starting to lay some groundwork and we’re going to keep on doing that and over time we’re going to build the kind of movement that really is going to change the country."
According to the campaign, 800 Obama supporters from Chicago are busing into Iowa this weekend. They’ll be joined by about 1500 Iowans who’re backing Obama and who’ll go door-to-door to sign up voters.
Obama has done this kind of thing before as a community organizer in Chicago. "Change always comes from the bottom up, not the top down," Obama repeated in his telephone conference call with supporters. "It starts with people like you who are foot soldiers for a better America."
Obama will be in Dubuque for about three hours Saturday, signing up voters himself.