Obama's ground game: 770 field offices

by Mark Silva

It isn't only massive television advertising on which the Obama campaign is basing its confidence in some of the most heavily contest electoral battleground states. It's also the canvassing of volunteeers and the work of paid staffers in an organization with 770 field offices.

And they are battling on many fronts.

"Strategically, we try to have as wide a path as possible,'' David Plouffe, the campaign manager, said today.

And, maintaining that Obama is not worried about either of the Republicans' main assaults now - the tax argument framed around "Joe the Plumber,'' or a TV ad replaying running mate Joe Biden's warning that Obama will draw a test from the nation's enemies if elected - the Obama campaign says it will likely stick with its own message through the end.

"We're going to continue with the same messaging we've had all along,'' Plouffe told reporters in a conference call that included other campaign staff- sort of a closing-campaign challenge to the other side to show what they've got going for them. "We also think there is some value in that. We have not careened from message to message, as our opponent has... That constancy is something that has been a positive.''

The campaign counts 1.5 million "active volunteers'' nationally, according to Jen O'Malley, the campaign's "battleground states director: "This election is going to come down to our ground organziation.''

"They work out of their homes and their neighbohoods,'' she said, and 770 offices across the country. "We measure not how many people we leave a message for... but how many people we actually have a conservative with, either at the door or on the phone,'' she said, and they average 400,000 contacts a day. They plan to make 1.2 million contacts this weekend in battleground states alone.

"Since Labor Day in Florida, we have contacted 1.3 million voters and had a conversation with them.'' she said. "That's a big deal.''

(Florida has 11.25 million registered voters.)

In Ohio, 1.5 million voters contacted since Labor Day - among the more than 12 million "conversations we've had'' nationally since the holiday.

(David Plouffe, campaign manager, shown above in the spin zone at the presidential debate in St. Lous. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

They are contesting Republican John McCain in Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Hampshire - the last state always holding a key place in the heart of a Republican who has appealed to independent voters and launched two primary campaigns there. In the Granite State, Plouffe said, "independent voters are breaking fairly heavily for Sen. Obama.''

While McCain has staked a claim to Pennsylvania - though lagging in the polls there - the Obama campaign suggests McCain has too far a hill to climb. The Democrat starts with an advantage of 1.2 million in voter registration. "If you look at just cold hard numbers, in order for McCain to win Pennsylvania, he is going to have to win 15 percent of the Democratic vote, 90 percent of the Republican vote and 60 percent of the independent vote,'' Plouffe said. "It's a daunting task, when you just kind of wipe away the spin here and look at the facts (but) they obviously are going to dig in there.''

While Obama touts strong support in Iowa, New Mexico, Virginia and Colorado, Plouffe also cautions about polling showing a wide spread in Virginia: "Don't pay too much attention to polling right now. We assume there is going to be some tightening, and we assume some of these states are going to be won narrowly.''

In Nevada, Florida and Ohio, Plouffe said, "we feel we are in very strong position... We feel all three will be very competitive and close.

In Florida, where Republicans traditionally have mobilized absentee balloting, the Obama campaign says its campaign for early-voting has erased that advantage. Predicting that, by Monday, more Democrats will have cast early ballots than Republicans have, he said: "We think we may enter the election (day voting) with some margin already in the bank.''

"Florida is going to end up being close, but we think we've made a lot of progress there with independents,'' Plouffe said.

In Ohio, McCain will have to "not just match what (President) Bush did in 2004 there with a massive turnout, "but match it and exceed it,'' he said. "That's an added burden McCain has.''

"A number of states are going to be very close,'' he said, calling the path to victory rougher going: Missouri, Indiana, North Carolina, Montana and West Virginia. "We think we have a credible argument and pathway in all of them.''

Early voting also is bringing a lot of Democrats to the polls this year, says Jon Carson, national field director for the campaign.

"Democrats are voting at significantly higher rates than Republicans'' in early voting, he said, noting that 520,000 Democrats have voted early in North Carolina, 56 percent of those voting early. In Nevada, Democrats account for 53 percent of the early voters.