Hello all, I’m now writing to you from Los Angeles, California. No, I’m not on a world tour but here to follow closely and learn from the US elections. Two words why I can’t do that properly from London: ‘Ground Operations’.

Though much has been said about Obama’s race, the dirty tricks, the media circus and polls, less attention has been paid to the boring stuff - the ground operations that actually mobilise voters. Obama’s formidable warchest has enabled him to assemble the biggest Democrat voting operation the party has ever assembled. This should not be sniffed at, because voter mobilisation and getting-out-the-vote on election day was what Republicans excelled at and partly why they kept winning.

My aim is to partly learn about and see in action the bread-and-butter operations such as voter registration efforts (now mostly coming to an end), trying to win them over, building up a voter database, bringing in volunteers and mobilising them and most importantly - getting out the vote on election day.

The other angle is that this is the biggest grassroots connection and mobilisation programme in the US ever. What will that mean for the future of politics in the US. And could that level of energy and those techniques be brought to the UK? I hope there is potential, which is why I’m here to absorb as much as I can.

Both the NY Times and Washington Post recently covered the ground operations. But a better article was written for FireDogLake by Zack Exley:

The “New Organizers” have succeeded in building what many netroots-oriented campaigners have been dreaming about for a decade. Other recent attempts have failed because they were either so “top-down” and/or poorly-managed that they choked volunteer leadership and enthusiasm; or because they were so dogmatically fixated on pure peer-to-peer or “bottom-up” organizing that they rejected basic management, accountability and planning. The architects and builders of the Obama field campaign, on the other hand, have undogmatically mixed timeless traditions and discipline of good organizing with new technologies of decentralization and self-organization.

Win or lose, “The New Organizers” have already transformed thousands of communities—and revolutionized the way organizing itself will be understood and practiced for at least the next generation. Obama must continue to feed and lead the organization they have built—either as president or in opposition. If he doesn’t, then the broader progressive movement needs to figure out how to pick this up, keep it going and spread it to all 50 states.

The second para is important. If Obama does it well, he could build a strong Democrat majority for decades to come and shift the political centre of American politics leftwards.

This model may not work here in two years time for the General Election, but I’m looking four years ahead to the London Mayoral election.

And some more campaign updates
- Jon Stewart has a brilliant take-down of McCain’s attempt to ‘reboot’ his pathetic campaign.

via Jed Report
[UPDATE: YouTube have pulled the vid. Replaced with Comedy Central version - Aaron]

- And here is another good video of National Review (ultra conservative journal) columnist Christopher Buckley, son of the magazine’s founder, explaining why he back Obama and how he was forced to resign after declaring his support. WaPo story.

- Crazy nutjobs at Republican rallies continue to make inciteful remarks

- Conservatives want to dump Palin too

- The third and final presidential debate is tonight.