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Health & Fitness

Local Volunteers, Big Names Out for Obama in Annandale

Volunteers, including Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, are combing neighborhoods across Annandale as the campaign comes to an end.

Volunteers started trickling into the living room of the Annandale home at 9:15 on Saturday morning. And by 10, the place was packed with canvassers for Barack Obama and everyone was waiting for the special guest to arrive. In the corner, a trainer taught volunteers the most effective ways to talk to their neighbors about voting for the President on Tuesday. At the kitchen table, homeowner Chris handed out clipboards with lists of voters and maps. Off to the side there was coffee and snacks. This well-oiled, almost frighteningly-organized, volunteer operation was just one of many being conducted across northern Virginia as the Obama campaign worked to get out every last voter to the polls.

At 10, Maryland Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown walked in with his daughter, ready to knock on doors themselves. Brown isn’t just an elected official – he’s also a Colonel in the US Army Reserves and the highest ranking elected official in the country to have served a tour in Iraq. And the crowd knew it -- Vietnam Veteran hats dotted the room. Veterans for Obama shirts peeked out behind fleeces. Two cybersecurity experts from the Department of Defense clutched clipboards.

Brown got the volunteers fired up – “I’m excited to be here,” he told the crowd. “I have faith that we will wake up on November 7th having secured four more years of strong leadership.” He told the crowd that their work was essential to “make sure everyone plays by the same rules and every has a fair shot.”

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The Lieutenant Governor has long been a strong advocate for veterans and a vocal supporter of the President. Northern Virginia has a large concentration of veteran voters and even more members of military families – an important constituency for a President with so many national security successes to his name. From dramatic increases in support for the VA and the GI Bill to the end of the Iraq War and relentless pursuit of al Qaeda, President Obama has earned a significant lead when it comes to national security and foreign policy.

When Brown was done, he joined the crowd as they filtered out into the neighborhood to knock on doors. And as they left, another group of volunteers showed up to get trained, get their clipboards, and head out into the final days of the campaign.

Find out what's happening in Annandalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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