If you’ve been following the blog, you’ve probably noticed that we haven’t updated in a while. The simple reason for this is that, despite sparse and narrowly focused reports to the contrary, recent polls show that the vast majority of former Hillary Clinton supporters have decided to support Barack Obama. To put it more bluntly, as Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com did last week, “the PUMAs are dead.” Barack Obama now enjoys a slightly higher percentage of support within the Democratic party than John McCain has among Republicans, and given the current trend towards Obama, his numbers may even inch up higher as the remaining undecided voters weigh in on election day.

Since the goal of BeyondHillary.com is to provide information on why Barack Obama is the best choice for Hillary supporters, you can see why we’e had less to say as more and more Clinton supporters moved over to Obama. Of course, there are still a few Clinton supporters who are unwilling to back Obama, but at this point they seem unlikely to impact the final outcome on election day.

So, misson accomplished? Not quite.

We’re very glad that so many Hillary supporters have decided to back Barack. However, because we’re certain that Barack Obama is the right choice in this election, we haven’t achieved our wider goal until he is elected president. The race looks good for him right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing until all the votes are counted. With just over a week until election day, there’s still a lot we all can do:

• Volunteer to call undecided voters, or to help get out the vote on election day. The Obama/Biden website can help you get in touch with a team of volunteers near you.
• Vote early! In San Francisco, where I live, you can vote early on any day between now and election day, for any reason. Many states allow early voting, so check out the options that are available in your area. Early voting can be very convenient, and it feels great to know you’ve already done your part.
• Research local races and ballot measures. In many places, there are plenty of races and initiatives to vote on other than the presidential matchup. Your ballot may include national or state congressional races or other measures. If there’s a lot to vote on in your area, it can be fun and helpful to hold a ballot party with friends, where each person researches one or two races and presents both sides of the argument.
• Talk to your friends and family about the election. Make sure they plan to vote and that they have the information they need to get to their polling place and make an informed decision. And remember, if you know any of the remaining Clinton supporters who are undecided or leaning towards McCain, BeyondHillary.com is a great resource for them!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 26th, 2008 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.