The Call of the Campaign
Part two: National politics and local realities
Mollie Rosenzweig (CAS’10) talks about how volunteering for John Edwards’ campaign made her more aware of the impact of local politics.
Growing up just outside Pittsburgh, Mollie Rosenzweig (CAS’10) heard plenty of political talk at her family’s breakfast table when her parents would read the newspaper and react, loudly, to the actions of politicians. “I’ve always been aware that politicians affect us personally,” she says.
As a high-school senior, that awareness led her to join her borough council, which makes decisions on issues such as local land use and zoning. Two years later, leading up to her first vote in a presidential election, that interest in politics prompted her to work as a volunteer for former 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
While Edwards’ decision to drop out of the race this week surprised Rosenzweig, she believes his influence will persist through the remaining primaries as the two top Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, battle for the votes of Edwards supporters. Plus, Rosenzweig says that being part of a presidential campaign, with its massive field operation and major national and foreign policy issue platforms, actually made her more appreciative of local government and the role she was able to play in her hometown.
“The presidential campaigns are just so huge,” she says, “and with the local stuff, I was there; I was just as much a part of it as anybody else. And the decisions we made were really real to some people.”
To see the first installment of this series, about BU students canvassing for Barack Obama in New Hampshire before that state’s primary, click here.
If you’re working on behalf of a presidential candidate or particular campaign issue, please e-mail Chris Berdik at cberdik@bu.edu.
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