Strictly speaking, it’s arm-twisting, not forced volunteerism. I’ll agree that Doug was engaged in a little hyperbole. I’ll also say that, in a vacuum, I wouldn’t really care about this. I’d write it off as a cheap political stunt.

But, since the campaign is not a vacuum, let’s bring in the relevant point:

Obama is a big advocate of national service, and has already proposed mandatory national service for middle and high schoolers.

Given this, and the Democrats new fetish for mandatory national service (cf. Universal Service Act of 2007), Obama’s stunt is more than just a stunt. It’s a message–a message about how important he thinks community service is.

Remember, he’s already proposed mandating that high schoolers give 100 hours of their lives over to community service. If service is so important to him, what might he do when actually in office?

hmmmm…..perhaps there’s still a smidgeon of hope for us yet…..

This is a far cry from mandating that people perform volunteer service “at the barrel of a gun.”

That’s because The one won’t have access to the gun until his Anointing.

BTW, what’s “forced” about this? I don’t give two shits about seeing The One speak, so I don’t have to worry about volunteering to get access to a ticket.

I suppose my only problem with it is that it’s at Mile High, but then again, the DNC is probably renting the building for the event.

Sure, the whole thing is silly, and it’s likely to piss off some of his supporters and make great fodder for talk radio, but how are you affected? Are you forced to volunteer?