Hmm...

I've had this blog template up for a while (I know, fancy template, right?), but have been pondering for some time what shape I want this to take. For me, like many people, blogging is like journaling or learning a new language, losing weight, or quitting smoking: something we talk endlessly about but never actually do. There is a long line of aborted blogs in my recent past and so the notion of starting a new one is always a bit daunting.

I've titled this blog "Brick by Brick, Block by Block," as a partial quotation by Barack Obama who said, and I paraphrase, "we can change this country brick by brick, block by block, calloused hand by calloused hand." I used this quote as the inspiration for the book project I am working on. It is a memoir about my time on the campaign, which lasted from June 30th, 2008 to November 7th, 2008. I worked in Southern Ohio, predominantly in Scioto County, where Sen. Obama netted roughly 46% of the vote. There are a number of memoirs about the campaign in the works from what I understand, but I have yet to hear about anyone writing from the ground level, which strikes me as a bit funny.

The campaign that put so much emphasis on and which revolutionized the grassroots has yet to be written about from the perspective of those on the ground: the organizers, volunteers, and others who, to put it simply, made Obama President. So that, in the most basic sense, is what I hope to achieve with my work. Whether I succeed or not (and what, really, is success?) is yet to be seen.

I hope to use this website, then, to occassionally post excerpts from my work, to ponder out loud the challenges that I face, and to solicit input from others about various aspects of my work, as well as simply post interesting stories and links as they arise. I hope you will join me as I attempt to tell the story of the most important and groundbreaking political campaign in decades.

It should be a fun ride.