Connecticut Obama Campaigners Celebrate in Washington
PARTY
Norwalk Hour
Tait Militana
Boston University Washington News Service
Jan. 19, 2009
WASHINGTON – For Lex Paulson, a volunteer in Norwalk for Barack Obama, the worst day of the campaign was before the primary when Obama trailed Hillary Clinton by 20 percentage points in the polls. After working with the failed Howard Dean campaign four years earlier, Paulson worried he would see his hopes for a Democratic president dashed again.
“I wasn’t going to fight any less, but I was thinking I had seen this movie before,” said Paulson.
Now Paulson is one of hundreds of campaigners from around Connecticut who is celebrating Obama’s victory in Washington. Several gathered in Georgetown on Sunday to toast their hard work and a brighter future. Jennifer Just, an Obama campaigner from Woodbridge, said she was elated that everyone’s hard work had paid off.
“To work this hard with such an amazing result is incredible,” Just said. “I am over the moon.”
Just, 50, hosted the chic party, which included local Obama volunteers, family and friends. Many had spent more than five hours Sunday traveling from Connecticut to see Tuesday’s swearing in ceremony. Paulson said that so many people from Connecticut are participating in the inauguration festivities shows how inspired the state is.
“It says we have a 400-year tradition of community organization,” said Paulson. “Buried beneath the surface, there is a revolutionary spirit.”
David Mooney, 32, a software engineer from Stratford, and Mike Brown, 57, a management consultant from Milford, also attended the bash. Both volunteered with the Obama campaign last year, working in area phone banks. Mooney said the sheer number of people descending on the capital this weekend shows the potential for the Obama administration. The inaugural committee has predicted more than 1 million visitors for the swearing in ceremony.
“The president that doesn’t have the support of the people can’t do his job,” said Mooney. “His popularity shows his potential to be effective.”
Several supporters said they would be working Monday on Martin Luther King Jr. day of service projects, attending inaugural balls and participating in other festivities. However, Just said much of the work for Obama and others is not done.
“He has to deal with the economy,” Just said. “I think he needs to tackle healthcare. He has to take everything on all at once and I would like to see him start on day one.”
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