pol�i�tick�ing (noun) activity undertaken for political reasons or ends, as campaigning for votes before an election, making speeches, etc., or otherwise promoting oneself or one's policies.

The Obama campaign is complaining that Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin attacked and insulted �ordinary people� last night by mocking Obama�s job as a �Community Organizer.�

Uh, no. Ordinary people volunteer. We see a need, join hands with others, and organize ourselves to get the work done. From PTAs to open source software, book clubs to care packages for soldiers, overseas tsunami aid to sports leagues, Americans collectively are the most generous volunteers of any country in the world. Tocqueville�s Democracy in America highlighted that volunteer spirit more than 150 years ago, and our volunteer spirit is still with us today.

Taking a paid job called �Community Organizer� is just another way to say �pay me for politicking.�

UPDATE:

Community Organizers now have organized a website to demand an apology from Govenror Palin. But this is how the Community Organizers describe themselves:

Though many people are unfamiliar with community organizing, the job is both straightforward and vital: community organizers work with families who are struggling�because of low wages, poor health coverage, unaffordable housing, and other community problems�so that collectively, they can fix those problems and make government respond to their day-to-day concerns. Organizers knock on doors, attend community meetings, visit churches and synagogues and mosques, and work with unions and civic groups and block associations to help ordinary people build power and counter the influence of self-interested insiders and highly paid lobbyists at all levels of government.

Translation: "Pay me for politicking."

Labels: America, Obama, politics, volunteers