Clinton, Obama Campaigns Churn Out Phone CallsCandidates' Workers Using Cell Phones, Help From MainlandPOSTED: 8:58 pm HST February 18,
2008 HONOLULU -- Both Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama campaigns on Monday used traditional and nontraditional phone banks in hopes of getting out the vote for Tuesday's Hawaii Democratic Caucus.At the Hawaii Democratic Party Headquarters, a Clinton phone bank got a boost from Sen. Dan Inouye, who brought along his fiance, Irene Hirano.They settled down along with other volunteers to call the party faithful.The Clinton volunteers called Democrats, people who the Clinton campaign thinks most likely will vote for their candidate during the caucuses."I won't be traveling all the way from Washington just to get on the telephone if I didn't mean to do so and took this very seriously," Inouye said.Other Clinton volunteers spent part of their Presidents Day holiday working the phones as well."In Hawaii, there is a strong phone banking effort underway and it's bringing your own cell phone," Clinton supporter Rep. Kirk Caldwell said.Obama's volunteers spent the weekend calling potential Obama supporters, trying to make sure they attend Tuesday's caucuses and know exactly where their caucus site is located.The Obama campaign said its Hawaii-born candidate is so popular here that they are calling Democrats, Republicans and Independents, targeting all registered voters."We have to reach as many people as possible and phones are an efficient way," Obama's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said.Obama's and Clinton's campaigns are not only relying on local people to do the calling, they are using volunteers from across the mainland who call Hawaii voters with their cell phones, from their homes and businesses in their spare time."People from all over the country can access them and share their stories and get feedback from the people," Soetoro-Ng said. Copyright 2008 by KITV.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |








