The caller spent about 30 seconds reading 2 minutes' worth of script, so it was largely unintelligible.  The basis of it was that Obama had accomplished much during his time in office, most of it working with Republicans.  The words "with a prominent Republican Senator" were included at least twice.  Another few seconds about the new kind of politcs, then the old reared its ugly head:

"So, um, Mr. Letini, would you be interested in supporting our campaign?"

I asked, "you mean, would I like to make a contribution?"

Him: "Uh, yeah, sir, that's what I mean."

Now, I'm not rich.  I'm not employed (I finally get out of college next week).  And hell, when I am employed, it's working for Democratic candidates, so I don't make much even when working full-time.  And I didn't give to any federal candidates last cycle, though I worked for one full-time (oddly enough, I ran her phone banking operation).  So I don't know how the hell I ended up on the low-dollar solicitation list.

And the thing that really gets me is: I like Obama.  He's top of my list right now, and I even sent my resume to the campaign.

Part of the reason I like him is his obvious charisma.  Part is that my mother-in-law actually would vote for him, making him the first Democratic candidate in decades that she's expressed any interest in supporting and making me think there's a greater potential for winning new voters.  And part of it is the promise of a "new kind of politics," because I work in the current kind and, I'll tell you, something's gotta change.

But the biggest reason why I like Obama is the enthusiasm he has generated among voters, especially younger ones.  And being an active young Democrat, with a great desire to see more of my generation brought into the Democratic fold and treated as equals with our Boomer brethren, I thought the idea of a campaign based around mobilizing younger voters to action would be a huge step for my party.

Now, that said, I really didn't appreciate my first-time contact with the Obama campaign, and its "new kind of politics," coming in the form of an amateurish solicitation for cash I ain't got.  The call could have been to ID supporters, and I wouldn't have minded.  It could have been to ask for attendance at a rally (even a fundraising rally), or, better yet, a request for me to call Mel Martinez and ask him to help override the Bush veto on Iraq.  Instead, I got the exact same fundraising pitch that I've made a thousand times before, when working for candidates who didn't claim to represent a major paradigm shift in American politics.  I know better than most people the importance of raising funds, but I also know that Obama is neither hurting for cash, not is his campaign spending its time wisely if they're making fundraising calls to unemployed college kids.

It's probably a good sign for the campaign that they have the resources to call someone so, dare I say, financially useless to them as me.  I still like Obama as a candidate.  But my respect for the "new kind of politics" he claims to represent has been seriously dimished, because there are frankly so many better things to call a young activist about than getting the $40 I may have in my bank account.

I declined to give a contribution.  The disillusionment stayed my hand.

(Author's note: really, Obama is my first choice.  This isn't some petty concern troll or a closet Edwards fan or anything like that, though I will say I hestitated to post this entry because of the fear that I will be attacked as such in the comments by overzealous supporters of one candidate or another.  The discourse on this site has gotten way the hell out of hand in recent months, and it's worrisome to me, since I enjoy hanging out here more than just about any other site, since it's tailor-made for young, progressive, political activists to come together and figure out ways to strengthen the overall movement.  I would hate to see MyDD co-opted by those with no desire to do anything except spur further intraparty squabbling and keep us attacking each other instead of the Administration and its congressional enablers.)