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ramblings about Barack and helping him get elected

GOP voter letter

By Bob - Dec 31st, 2007 at 10:55 am EST

Also listed in: Memphis for Obama '08

I met a very nice GOP voter while I was canvassing for Barack. A few weeks later, he sent me his copy of Atlantic magazine with Barack on the cover (photo montage image) and Andy Sullivan's excellent essay, "Goodbye to all that," which you can read at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama. This is the letter I sent him in return:

Dear Mr. -----,

Thank you for thinking of me when you saw that wonderful article in Atlantic magazine. The cover is particularly striking - I think I will store this away for my grandchildren. I have, to use a tired phrase, hope. I hope we are onto something really different, a break from old bitterness and lies, a break from the revolving door of politicians and bureaucrats (of BOTH parties!) into cushy lobbying jobs after selling out the American people, and, most of all, a return to the Constitution as the bedrock of our Republic.

As I told you, I have never done anything like this before. I never thought a politician could make so much difference as to be worth this much of my time. Moderates of both parties and Independents are listening to this message. He is sensible, he is honest, he is inspiring, he believes in the Constitution, he believes in actually solving problems by working together instead of scoring points by screaming about them. Could we really be so lucky as to elect someone this decent?

He is also, it must be said, an extraordinarily gifted politician. He has maneuvered the Democratic Party establishment into a political corner, defanged the Democratic Party's raging populist, and mobilized a huge following of supporters like me willing to work for him. I think he will win Iowa. Then we will really have to work harder than ever for him to win in Tennessee. If he wins enough of these early primaries, and people begin to shake off the tired assumption that "no way America will elect this guy" there could be a landslide.

But we need you. We need patriotic Americans of every party, and every thinking citizen who wants to solve problems and improve our country. I hope you have already checked out his website at www.barackobama.com, listened to more of his speeches and read some of his policy papers. If you desire, as I do, to leave a better America to the next generation, I can't think of a better first step than electing this man President. I hope you will help us make it happen.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Schoumacher, MD

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Things to Like about Barack

By Bob - Oct 9th, 2007 at 4:22 pm EDT

This is a handout I intend to give to all the canvassers at the Memphis Canvass on 10/13/07. I give my permission for folks to copy/adapt as they wish. I worry that some canvasser will be a little stuck when someone asks them "Why are you doing this?"

You might not agree with everything I included here. You might have some ideas of your own. The point is that you HAVE to be ready to answer the question: “Why do you think Barack is worth all this time and effort?”

Things to Like About Barack:

Against the War from the beginning. Had the wisdom to see that the case for war was weak, and the judgment to know we were stepping into a mess.
He’s a Uniter. He doesn’t stir up hate against others, or belittle those who disagree with him. He listens respectfully and tries to find common ground to build compromises and actually solve problems. He appeals to independents and moderate Republicans and to Religious folks and to … everyone! He can bring the country together and get to work on our problems.
He’s a Constitutional Law Professor. He actually thinks defending the Constitution and Bill of Rights is the most important duty of the President -- he won’t constantly be trying to increase Presidential power where it is not needed.
He’s extremely intelligent and completely honest. When he disagrees with you, he will tell you straight out and explain why. He goes to the Detroit automakers to argue for higher gas mileage standards, and to Wall Street to argue for better transparency in stock transactions. He doesn’t tell the audience just what they want to hear. He doesn’t wait to read polls to explain how he feels. He has thought a lot about our problems and published his policy ideas in great detail, but he still LISTENS to others.
He is compassionate. He cares about real people at all levels of our society, and making government work for them, instead of against them.
He has the ONLY Health Care Reform plan that gets coverage for everyone who wants it, but doesn’t FORCE people to buy a plan they don’t want, (Edwards or Hillary, who copied Edward’s plan, would force EVERYONE to have insurance, even if they don’t want it) and his plan will actually save consumers money. The Drug and Insurance industries are gonna fight it like crazy, so we will have to be ready to help him with this AFTER he gets elected, too.
He is inspirational, like Reagan, FDR, or Kennedy. He inspires ordinary people to do things like volunteer and canvass, and talk politics without shouting at each other. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, he “appeals to the better angels of our nature.”
He is black. His election would send an enormous signal that our country is still serious about solving the racial divide in America, and that America is still the last, best hope of humanity.

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