Callin' out ... we gon' make this ish happen right here, right now

Sara (center) and Narges get schooled on calling New Mexicans.

Barack Obama is the one man that can get me to enter telemarketing.

What does he have me sell? Barack Obama - his image, his future, his hope. And while I initially did it somewhat begrudgingly, I overcame and became comfortable with the sale.

It certainly was not easy to start. Telemarketing is high on the pet peeves list for most people (myself included, so cold calling registered voters to get information was not so comforting at first.

But after I started to get a feel for how to speak on the phone and whatnot, my fears began to recede. So far, I've gone three times with Sara to our local Obama campaign chapter ("Silicon Valley for Obama") and got to work calling New Mexicans and Indianians, making 170 calls across the nation. Sara is somewhere close to 1,000. And though I was apprehensive at first, her encouragement got me to the phone-bank and got me to care more about this election.

Our goal: to ascertain whether these registered voters (a list of which is apparently simple to obtain) were supporting Obama, and, if so, could we get these people to vote early in person. A pretty smart goal, considering big problems with disenfranchisement in this country, and a goal that can give Obama a big boost, according to my idol, Jeff Chang (or, should I say, Jeff "Change" [I've been waiting so long to use that one]).

If Obama can get people to the polls early, where there are no lines and less chance of people being improperly redirected or refused, then that means more votes total, which means more electoral votes from a key swing state.

A pretty great cause, right? I agree. In fact, I agree so much so that I want to do something to help make it a reality.

But, at first, it was really tough for me to, in good conscience, pick up a phone and make political calls to random citizens. Like I mentioned, my beef with phone banking was simply that I dislike receiving calls of any sort from solicitors or political groups myself. Therefore, I would be asking for my face to appear next to Webster's definition of hypocrisy if I were to take it up as a habit.

But after my first outing, I was okay. No one chewed me out over the phone. No crazy McCain supporters screamed on the other end. Nothing wild at all. So I went again. And, again, it wasn't as bad. I got through to a few Obama supporters, and their enthusiasm seeped through my receiver palpably. It felt good to contact them, and by the third time, when I even got one Indian man to become interested in early voting, I thought to myself that I made a mistake by not doing more. I no longer felt the residual fear of enraging those citizens on the other end of the line, because I was selling something these people already wanted - a vote for Obama, only made easier. It was a sale I was confident I could make.

In addition, this was not a job for robo-calls. It was not a smear campaign, and we were encouraged not to even mention McCain or Palin by name (I don't think all the phone-bankers adhered to that rule). We don't even try to speak with McCain supporters. We might try to get some undecided voters, and direct them to the Web site for more information, but it is all for the Obama supporters. Once we get a supporter the information he or she wants, we get to ring a little bell on the desks, as a signal to the other callers that hope is alive and well.

So I'll be going out at least one more time to keep doing my part. I encourage you, kind reader, to consider doing the same. Just an hour can be helpful. I didn't think so at first, but then I realized it wasn't just the people on the other end who were being helped. It was my own life that was benefiting, as well.

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Photo courtesy of the Silicon Valley for Obama Flickr site. Or, actually, just taken, really. I didn't ask for or receive any courtesy. Don't get me wrong - there was no discourtesy or anything. It was more of a situation where I figured posting Obama supporters anywhere is good press. So, you know, it's not a big deal or anything. Plus, it is my girlfriend and one of my best friends in the photos, so, I mean, do I really need permission?