Not for everyone, but some will have the werewithal to do this.  People unable to work for one reason or another.  Stay at home parents who have time while the kids are at school.  Retired folk.  Young people on summer break from school.

I think it's admirable that Obama is giving these opportunities, and I'm sure as president he'd offer grants for this sort of work (it's very close to his heart, after all).  That said, all of his money needs to be going to winning the presidency and lower offices for Democrats.  That's all there is to it.  He can do a lot more for community organizers if there's a Democratic president and congress than if we're still squabbling with gridlock.

How is this any different from the students (and often graduates) who work, unpaid, for months in congressional offices or in similar situations. It is still a great way for young people to get their foot in the door, it will look great on a resume, and will give them a head start on others who want to work in this field in many ways.

It sucks that it doesn't offer a stipend, I agree, but it will still be a great learning experience for those who can do it.

I had the exact same thought.  It seems like all the best opportunities to intern are unpaid - it's nearly impossible to get a paid internship in Congress, for example, unless you work for a Republican senator.

Frustrating for people like me who need money week-to-week, but as long as there are enough trust-fund babies who will do it for free, why would anyone pay for interns they'll get anyway?

let me get this straight you like the idea put forth but you think the campaign should make it a paid fellowship? I doubt he can do that now as he still campaigns in the primary, right now the idea is for people who are passionate about learning these skills will volunteer to be trained on their dime. I doubt he can spend money now to pay for people in these programs. I bet its something he could implement while running in the GE or after he's elected.

I agree, I was interested in doing this before I realized it was an unpaid internship. This will be a great oppurtunity for rich kids who can afford to do an unpaid internship for the summer, but for most of us it something we can't do. I will be working for one of the 527's instead, hopefully.

Here is the bad news folks...

In December, according to an Associated Press tally, Clinton led Obama by 106 superdelegates. In February, her lead had been cut to 87. As of Thursday, it was 30.

This is from the LA Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/ nation/la-na-superdelegates4apr04,1,4816 771.story

Its almost over, then we can all come together against John McShame.

Go Democrats!

The sign up page doesn't seem incredibly detailed. Perhaps you might want to email them to see if they do provide compensation? I'm going to assume they provide accommodation and food.

Although.. on the other hand, something like this is a great opportunity for any young person. It would be nice to encourage those who cannot afford not to have summer jobs to apply, but you can't really sniff at it.

its tantamount to an unpaid internship. people do it all the time. this is a silly front page diary.

No one has mentioned teachers yet. Also, small business owners who can set their schedule could do this.

For those who can't devote the time, there is no shortage of volunteering opportunities with the campaign. I've volunteered for Obama. They've done an excellent job of giving people lots of ways to donate their time and effort in way that fits their schedule.

I just signed up for myDD (been lurking for a while) to respond to this post.

Many public interest or community organizing work starts out unpaid - thats just the nature of the game.  The idea that this kind of work is only for 'trust-fund' babies is offensive and stinks of unamerican classism (is that even a word)?

If you are dedicated you can often find a third party thats willing to fund your work, such as your university.

Whether or not you support Obama, you can't deny his celebrity status.  If he can cash in on his fame to encourage others to do community work - more power to him.  This may just be a token PR gesture on his part, but to me, its a lot more meaningful than most of the garbage coming out of either camp.  

In the end, community work (often through churches), makes a bigger difference than most things we place a lot more emphasis on in media and politics.

My background is in nonprofit work.  I understand you don't do this sort of thing to become wealthy.  And I understand that most organizations have to rely on unpaid internships.  I've been a volunteer and I've been an intern.  That kind of support is invaluable.

My point is that the Obama campaign is in a position to offer an actual fellowship, and I wish they'd gone ahead and done that.

  I agree. I have been recruited by several Democratic campaigns, but they refuse to pay me a dime.  I would just expect living expenses.  It's time for Obama to reciprocate and help his own supporters.  People can't always work for free.

One of the worst that I've seen frontpaged at MYDD.

How is this any different from AmeriCorps?  Aside from the pay part?  Not being snide, just sounds very familiar to the Clinton I initiative.

Is the Obama campaign going to pay for their room and board?  If they did that, the applications would be pouring in.

They're called "field staff". The Obama campaign has been up and running for sixteen months right now. I'm sure there are plenty of under-25s working in politics for the very first time that started in March of 2005.

Do we really think think the Obama campaign let go of the people who, on their own, organized Boise State's students for Obama starting last summer?

you guys are pathetic. grasping at straws. no creds left for you.

Obama has plenty of well-heeled young supporters that will sign up for this. That is his base.

"I love Obama, he is the only hope for America,  but does he expect me to work for free?  Get real!"

I completely agree with you.

As an Obama supporter, but more importantly, as a student who has already volunteered with the campaign, I'm exactly the kind of person to which this program is directed.  

And I can't do it.

I'm signed up to be a "Neighborhood Leader" with the Democratic Party of Oregon, but they're asking much less of a time commitment from me.  Obama's campaign is asking for 30 hours a week during the summer.  I will already be working 30-40 hours a week, and at SOME point I'd even like to enjoy my three months off school.

If this was a position where I could join, work hard, and substitute (or even approach substituting) the income I would be getting from working a real job, I'd take it in a heartbeat.  In that case, there would be no job I WANTED to do more.  In this case, however, I simply don't have the ability to pull it of.

And one last note - this is to Shem.  Shem, I've spent a lot of time on MyDD, written a few diaries, engaged in wars of fact and reason with some of the more delusional Clinton supporters on this site, and generally witnessed most of the vitriol that can be spit against Obama on this site.  I actually have taken (and am taking) a big break off from commenting, only adding to discussions where I see there's something to be added, and always trying to keep things fairly positive.  So I understand why your first inclination would be to defend something that you see as an attack.

But this isn't an attack piece by any means.  Obama DID miss an opportunity - it's not saying he won't win in the fall, or that he's a bad person, or anything else.  Just that he could have gone about doing this particular campaign in a way that the author feels would have been more effective.

Nada mas, nada menos.

I have plenty of students that do things like this, typically at NGOs in and around NYC and D.C. If the student can prove that they were not paid and are willing to write a paper based on the experience, we'll even give them course credit to "pay" them for their time. It's our way of giving back and encouraging them to toward social activism after they graduate.

My brother-in-law had a three month unpaid internship with Maine Public Radio. He's young. He waited tables and did some catering to pay his bills. Unpaid internships are quite common.