Obama supporter pays to promote him in Denver

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

“My friends joked that I spend so much time talking about this man I should be getting paid,” Joan Sadoff, of Philadelphia, said about her “holding court” on Sen. Barack Obama, whom she has supported “from Day One.”

Instead, Mrs. Sadoff, a documentary filmmaker and former social worker, will be spending $1,000 her own money “going to Denver to volunteer with 8,000 people” at the Democratic National Convention this week to witness the historic nomination of Mr. Obama as the party’s candidate for president of the United States.

As she prepared to go to Denver two weeks ago, Mrs. Sadoff said her main reasons for supporting Mr. Obama is his stance against the Iraq war , his plans to withdraw troops and his approach to foreign policy with “the possibility of diplomacy being back on the table.”

“At the top of his agenda is meeting with leaders of other countries ,” she said.

A clinical social worker, the mother of four and grandmother of eight, the 70-year-old Mrs. Sadoff said she pays close attention to how people communicate, especially how well they listen.

“He knows how to listen … and I can picture [Mr. Obama] taking that skill to Syria, Pakistan and the Middle East and sitting down with them and trying to find a place where we can find common ground, and let that be the place to start,” Mrs. Sadoff said.

“I’m Jewish and I’m very comfortable with him in terms of Israel,” she added.

Monday, as Mrs. Sadoff traveled to Denver, Dr. Robert L. Sadoff, a forensic psychiatrist and director of the Center for Studies in Social-Legal Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed his wife’s “passion” for the Democratic candidate, the couple’s political concerns and activities, and Mr. Obama’s running mate.

The couple is delighted with Mr. Obama’s selection of Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., as his running mate.

“I’m absolutely thrilled. He’ll bring balance and energy to the ticket,” said Mrs. Sadoff, noting that Mr. Biden is sometimes referred to as “the third senator” from Pennsylvania.

Given Mr. Biden’s acknowledged acumen in foreign affairs, Dr. Sadoff said, “he’s a good choice for VP.”

As longtime members of the World Affairs Council, they met Mr. Biden at a 2003 national conference of the organization in the District. Dr. Sadoff remembered that Mr. Biden “was bright and seemed to know what he was talking about.”

The Sadoffs are writing a book about the women featured in the award-winning film “Standing on My Sister’s Shoulders,” which they co-produced with director Laura J. Lipson. It is about unsung heroines of the civil rights movement.

The optimistic Sadoffs predicted that the Democratic ticket would get a bounce in the polls after the convention.

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