Davenport, Ia. – The first person to get his photo taken backstage with President Barack Obama this morning was a volunteer who has made more than 17,000 telephone calls for his re-election campaign.

Davenport retiree Jim Murphy said Obama thanked him, then posed for some snapshots shortly before taking the stage at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds for a 10 a.m. campaign rally.

Murphy said Obama had called him on Aug. 6, back when he’d made only 10,000 phone calls.

“I sure hope it makes a difference,” Murphy said. “It’s hard to get volunteers. I don’t know why. They all want to get him elected but nobody wants to help.”

Murphy calls Iowans to remind them to vote and to persuade them to vote for the Democratic candidate. He spends about four to six hours a day, five days a week on the phones at either the Bettendorf or Davenport Obama campaign offices.

For more on this story, visit: Iowan who made 17,000 calls for Obama gets backstage photo opp | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs.