Obama Cart: From Divide to Unity

From Divide to Unity for Obama is raising money for the campaign and raising awareness by pulling an Obama Cart through small towns in battleground states. The journey started in Divide, Montana and the destination is Unity, New Hampshire!

The Cart has already attracted a lot of attention and has been featured by local media. Click here for local coverage in Butte Montana.

‘Pullers’ wanted By Erin Nicholes - 08/01/2008

ANACONDA — Bill Johnson was trolling a Barack Obama campaign Web site when he spotted a trade opportunity.

Obama fan Cheryl Souza, of Boston, was selling bookmarks to raise money for the presumed Democratic nominee’s presidential campaign. And Johnson, of Anaconda, was selling Obama signs from the ends of old cable spools.

“I agreed to trade her,” he said Friday.

But when the costs of shipping the sign to the East proved steep, the two brainstormed for a creative solution.

“I said, ‘You should really just wheel it cross-country,’” Souza said Friday in a phone interview. “He said, ‘OK.’ He just took it and ran with it.” On Friday, a cart Johnson made of three Obama signs will begin a long journey towards Souza from Montana to New Hampshire. Specifically, it will head from Divide to Unity, N.H., a route chosen to illustrate Obama supporters’ hopes for the country’s political future.

“This is such an ‘Obamanation’ thing going on,” Souza laughed. “We just get in over our heads.” The journey starts Friday at 5 p.m. at Divide — also Johnson’s hometown. From there, it will head to Butte, traveling down Iron and Montana to Interstate 90 at about 6:30 p.m. It will then journey on to Bozeman, Billings, North Dakota and ultimately New Hampshire.

“He found a way to connect Divide with New Hampshire, going through swing states,” Souza said.

Obama supporters along the route are sought to pull the cart, even for short legs. It has a hitch, and can travel about 20 miles an hour.

“We’re getting people slowly,” Johnson said, adding Obama campaign staff is helping find pullers. “Montana and North Dakota are the biggest problems because we have 100 miles between towns. Once we get it to Minnesota, then there are towns along the way.” Johnson, a local school board member, said he became an Obama supporter after hearing the candidate speak at the Democratic Convention four years ago.

“When Obama made his speech to the Democratic Convention I thought, ‘Oh boy, there’s a guy who’s saying what I’m saying,’” he said. “We need a rational and intelligent person; someone who’s familiar with the Constitution.” Souza, an ichthyology faculty assistant at Harvard University, is a longtime Obama fan as well. She frequents the candidate’s official campaign site and comes up with projects, such as bookmarks, to raise money for his presidential bid.

The Obama cart, she said, will be prominently displayed in her area.

“It might end up in the garden at my home,” she said. “But if I can find a taker in Unity, N.H., it would be really nice if I could find a permanent resting spot there.” Meanwhile, anyone interested in volunteering to pull the cart along the route can e-mail Bill Johnson at dividemt@aol.com.

“Even short 10-mile pulls” are welcome, he said.

Here is what Obama Cart recipient Cheryl Souza posted about the event:

We need folks from: Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Mostly battleground states.

For You to bring Obama Cart from Divide, Montana to Unity, NH! With Publicity

Bill Johnson is regularly updating his blog with the progress of the cart as it makes its way from his home in Divide, Montana to its new home in Unity, New Hampshire.

We started in Butte and ran the cart down Montana Street past the TV station (KXLF) and had what I thought was a great interview. Discussed why I am supporting Senator Obama and also some school board issues (I serve on the school board in Anaconda). I did not get to see any newscasts, so I am unsure of how the editing went. If anyone wants to go to the station and look, they usually post all of their video on the web site. They may not have used the interview last night, so check back tonight if it isn't there yet.

While my daughter and I were pulling the cart down Montana street, a middle aged man in a pickup yelled at us. He then pulled into a parking lot across the street and continued yelling. After a few seconds of that he gave us the finger and, while he continued his rage, drove away. It is the first time in my life of almost 58 years that I had that kind of hate directed against me. "Kind of stupid," was my first thought. That a simple sign could set off such a rage is pretty sad. What is sadder is the fact that some Americans have to put up with that kind of nonsense every day. I got a chuckle out of it, but later realized that he could have posed a danger to my daughter and myself. TV cameras came out just seconds after he left, so that may have encouraged him to leave. I have to say, though, I am proud to be on the side I am when it comes to such people. Now, let me add, McCain and his campaign do not support such bigotry either.

Then my wife and I took the cart to Bozeman...

Now, I believe this is the finest idea I have ever had. This cart attracts attention from everyone who passes and the media love it. Small town news-people love to have some contact with the national campaigns, just as us folks do. The press response is unbelievable. The cart provides a good positive visual image for the campaign (except of course for the above gentleman) and it is a real hoot to pull and talk to all the curious people.