Come Nov. 5, John McCain supporters might just rue the day they made all those wisecracks about community organizers.

Approaches central to community organizing -- building grassroots support, harnessing volunteer labor, directing coalitions toward one goal -- are paying off big time for Barack Obama. Want proof?

Just look at the thousands of well-organized and trained out-of-state volunteers pouring into battleground states for his campaign.

From now until Election Day, they will call voters, knock on doors and train others about how the political process works. Obama’s concept of "hope" - knocked by so many as nebulous - has raised a groundswell of support, and he’s got community organizing to thank.

Consider the case of Brittany Lindon of Hot Springs, Ark., married mother of two, doctorial candidate and an ardent Obama supporter.

She’s living with a family she just met in Kansas City, working 14-hour days at an Obama campaign office, one of 44 in the bellwether state. Lindon is part of a team set up to welcome and organize the 1,000 out-of-state workers the office expects to help in Jackson County alone on Election Day. The volunteers have come from places like Lousiana and Illinois - and even from Britain.

"They really put you to good use," Lindon said. "You don’t want to miss out on it."

Her journey began in January with a simple e-mail. She logged onto the Obama campaign Web site and offered to make phone calls. Within five minutes, a "Welcome Brittany" note was posted on the site and she had the names and phone numbers of about 20 people the Obama campaign wanted her to begin calling.

"I’ve never worked for something that is that efficient," she said.

Community organizing at its roots revolves around a simple concept: people talking with others. This philosophical underpinning meshes well in the Internet era of politicking.

Electioneering has changed markedly since the last presidential campaign, thanks to new developments in cyberspace. The Obama campaign is taking advantage of new tools such as the social networking sites MySpace and Facebook.

The framework for what is happening now in the Obama campaign began months before Sarah Palin’s speech-writers came up with this typical bit of snark for her: "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."

It was a mistake for the McCain camp to dismiss Obama’s days as a community organizer as a bunch of airy-fairy nonsense. Obama has clearly learned how to motivate people, even if his style seems overly naive.

At the top of his Web site is this quote from Obama: "I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I’m asking you to believe in yours."

OK, that sounds puffy nice, so easy to mock. Except that most people gravitate to goodwill if approached right. We’re a nation that put the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series on best-seller lists, for goodness sake. What most people tend not to have readily available, however, are the political connections and savvy to change things they dislike about their neighborhoods, city governments and workplaces. Community organizing gives them that.

The Obama campaign has drawn a lot of people into the fold who had never been involved in politics. People found themselves in leadership roles, planning strategy, with access to voter rolls online - and they found themselves being held accountable for what they accomplished. That’s a far different concept than giving someone a sign to stand on street corner with on Election Day.

Obama workers point out the networks now in place won’t just affect the presidential race; they just might end up affecting city council races and school board elections.

Community organizing believes that government should be of the people, by the people and for the people. You can’t get much more patriotic or democratic than that.

And if the McCain/Palin camp weren’t so busy ridiculing the concept, they might wake up in time to realize it could cost them the election.
To reach Mary Sanchez call 816-234-4752 or send email to msanchez