Obama Supporters Without a Cause
After Obama's election, some supporters look for new missions.
Nov. 15, 2008 — -- There were throngs of fans, an army of supporters and a sea of volunteers working, sacrificing much of their lives to help Barack Obama emerge victorious from the presidential election.
When he won, it was pure exhilaration. But now what?
"Honestly, the next day there was a little bit of a deflation," Obama volunteer Zeba Khan told "Good Morning America," "like we were down a little."
Khan, 28, is one of a number of Obama activists who have found themselves at a loss. Their mission accomplished, there is no longer that cause to throw their enthusiasm behind.
"It became my life," said Khan, who knocked on doors in Ohio and even set up a Web site to solicit support from Muslim Americans. "It literally was."
The Obama campaign built an unprecedented network of support, which included an e-mail list with 10 million names and cell phone numbers, had 3 million donors and 1.5 million active volunteers.
"No president in history has ever had anything close to this," said ABC News political correspondent Rick Klein.
The challenge for Obama's transition team now is to try and figure out how to harness the support and turn it into a tool for governing.
"He's got the potential to go directly to the people with his message, solicit input, solicit advice and then put them out there to work on behalf of an Obama agenda," Klein said.
Some think there is potential to convert political support into social activism, the likes of which the country has not seen since FDR's New Deal. But the new White House will not be able to simply take over the political lists for official government activity.
"The White House has set up a firewall between the political apparatus and the policy apparatus," Klein said.
For now, Obama is putting his weekly radio address on YouTube and has set up a Web site called Change.gov to stay connected with supporters.
Khan said she would love a job in the new administration. But if that doesn't work out, she still hopes Obama will ask for her help.
"I sincerely hope he does that," she said. "That's what I am hoping to do. That's what I got out of his message, and that's what I'm trying to do."
