The energy and positive activity of our successful campaign to elect Barack Obama as the 44th President of the USA has motivated thousands of citizens to continue making a difference in their communities. Here in the mountains and rural area east of Albuquerque, many activists have stayed in touch and created a new group: East Mountains for Change. The new web site for East Mountains for Change is: http://emforchange.ning.com
2. USE VOUCHER AT BORDERS BOOK FAIR, JANUARY 7-9
John McCain told the Wall Street Journal in November, 2007: "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated." Ten months ago at the January 10, 2008 Republican Debate in Myrtle Beach, even Mitt Romney knew that the country was in trouble and headed for a recession if we didn't do something about the housing crisis and middle class tax breaks. But John McCain kept singing the song that the economy was fundamentally strong:
All six of the Republican presidential candidates were asked tonight whether they believe the U.S. economy is headed towards a recession, and whether the federal government should step in to help. “Could we be headed for a recession? Absolutely. Do we have to be headed for a recession? Absolutely not,” said Mitt Romney.The former Massachusetts governor said the “number one” thing the federal government has to do to help the economy is stop the housing crisis — although he did not lay out how that should be done. Romney also advocated for middle-class tax cuts, lowering gas prices in a broader effort to be energy independent, and making significant R&D investments in science and technology.Sen. John McCain disputed the suggestion. “I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession,” he said, “I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong and I believe they will remain strong. This is a rough patch, but I think America’s greatness lies ahead of us.”The Arizona Senator argued reining in federal spending was the most fundamental thing the government could do. It’s “what caused interest rates to rise. It causes people to be less able to afford their own homes. We need to stop the spending and that way, we can get our budget under control and we can have basically a strong fundamental fiscal underpinning.” http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/01/10/are-we-headed-toward-a-recession/
All six of the Republican presidential candidates were asked tonight whether they believe the U.S. economy is headed towards a recession, and whether the federal government should step in to help.
“Could we be headed for a recession? Absolutely. Do we have to be headed for a recession? Absolutely not,” said Mitt Romney.
The former Massachusetts governor said the “number one” thing the federal government has to do to help the economy is stop the housing crisis — although he did not lay out how that should be done. Romney also advocated for middle-class tax cuts, lowering gas prices in a broader effort to be energy independent, and making significant R&D investments in science and technology.
Sen. John McCain disputed the suggestion. “I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession,” he said, “I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong and I believe they will remain strong. This is a rough patch, but I think America’s greatness lies ahead of us.”
The Arizona Senator argued reining in federal spending was the most fundamental thing the government could do. It’s “what caused interest rates to rise. It causes people to be less able to afford their own homes. We need to stop the spending and that way, we can get our budget under control and we can have basically a strong fundamental fiscal underpinning.” http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/01/10/are-we-headed-toward-a-recession/
Now the Republican administration is proposing $1 Trillion of government spending to stop the economic crisis.
The Nation has an article by Mark Sumner about John McCain as a "Crisis Enabler" which every voter should read http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081006/sumner. It's conclusion says it all:
"It may come as a surprise to the champions of deregulation, but nobody likes regulation. The restrictions that were placed on banks, S&Ls and other institutions in the 1930s weren't put there because someone thought it would be fun. They were put in place because they addressed problems that had just been clearly and painfully revealed. They were put in place because they were necessary. It's bad enough if John McCain didn't know that. It's far worse if he did. "
"It may come as a surprise to the champions of deregulation, but nobody likes regulation. The restrictions that were placed on banks, S&Ls and other institutions in the 1930s weren't put there because someone thought it would be fun. They were put in place because they addressed problems that had just been clearly and painfully revealed. They were put in place because they were necessary.
It's bad enough if John McCain didn't know that. It's far worse if he did. "
I enjoy Garrison Keillor and his radio show "A Prairie Home Companion". Last month, my husband and I happily attended his Rhubarb Tour show in Santa Fe. His funny, warm, and thoughtful music, prose, and humor are reminiscent of a fine blend of Woody Guthrie and Will Rogers -- American humor with a populist national conscience. He recently wrote in The Baltimore Sun his reflection on the Republican National Convention:
So the Republicans have decided to run against themselves. The bums have tiptoed out the back door and circled around to the front and started yelling, "Throw the bums out!" They've been running Washington like a well-oiled machine, to the point of inviting lobbyists into the back rooms to write the legislation, and now they are anti-establishment reformers dedicated to delivering us from themselves. And Giuliani is an advocate for small-town America. Bravo.They are coming out for Small Efficient Government the very week that the feds are taking over Fannie and Freddie, those old cash cows, and in the course of a weekend 20 or 50 or (pick a number) billion go floating out the Treasury door. It is a bold move on the Republicans' part - forget about the past, it's only history, so write a new narrative and be who you want to be - and if they succeed, I think I might declare myself a 24-year-old virgin named Lance and see what that might lead to. Paste a new face on my Facebook page, maybe become the Dauphin Louie the 32nd, the rightful heir to the Throne of France, put on silk tights and pantaloons and a plumed hat and go on the sawdust circuit and sell souvenir hankies imprinted with the royal fleur-de-lis. John McCain has decided to run as a former POW and a maverick, a maverick's maverick, rather than Mr. Bush's best friend, and that's understandable - but how can he not address the $3 trillion that got burned up in Iraq so far? It's real money; it could've paid for a lot of windmills, a high-speed rail line in Ohio, some serious research and development. The Chinese, who have avoided foreign wars for 50 years, are taking enormous leaps forward, investing in their economy, and we are falling behind. We're wasting our chances. And a former mayor of a town of 7,000 who hired a lobbyist to get $26 million in federal earmarks is now running against the old-boy network in Washington who gave her that money to build the teen rec center and other good things so she could keep taxes low in Wasilla. Stunning. And if you question her qualifications to be the leader of the free world, you are an elitist. This is a beautiful maneuver. I wish I had thought of it back in school when I was forced to subject myself to a final exam in higher algebra. I could have told Miss Mortenson, "I am a Christian, and when you gave me a D you only showed your contempt for the Lord and for the godly, hard-working people from whom I have sprung, you elitist battleax, you."In school, you couldn't get away with that garbage because the taxpayers know that if we don't uphold scholastic standards, we will wind up driving on badly designed bridges and go in for a tonsillectomy and come out missing our left lung, so we flunk the losers, lest they gain power and hurt us. But in politics, we bring forth phonies and love them to death.When you check the actuarial tables on a 72-year-old guy who's had three bouts with cancer, you guess you may be looking at the first female president, a hustling evangelical with a chip on her shoulder who, not counting Canada, has set foot outside the country once - a trip to Germany, Iraq and Kuwait in 2007 to visit Alaskans in the armed service. And who listed a refueling stop in Ireland as a fourth country visited. She's like the Current Occupant but with big hair. If you want inexperience, there were better choices.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.keillor11sep11,0,4084302,print.story
You are invited to share Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech for the Democratic Nomination with local supporters. Please join us at one of the Convention Watch Parties in Sandia Park, Tajique, Estancia, and Edgewood. Obama Acceptance Speech/Convention Watch Parties in the East Mountains/Estancia Valley: Thursday, August 28, 7-9PM. All are invited!! No Host food and drink available. Pick up a Yard Sign.
For more information, directions and to RSVP:
Sandia Park (Kokapelli’s Kantina) http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpg89c
Tajique (Casa Manzano B&B) http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpg87t
Estancia (Blue Ribbon Bar & Grill) http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpgcj2
Edgewood (Enriqueta June’s House) http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/conventionwatchparty/gpgqvr
Here's a beautiful music video made in Santa Fe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCIluGqtecQ
Yes, this is the face of New Mexico. I love this place!
Moderates and progressives should be very afraid of what John McCain has in mind for advancing the right-wing judicial agenda in this country. But, as Doug Kendall says in his “Fearing the McCain Supreme Court”, people aren’t paying a lot of attention to the possibility that a McCain Presidency could insure a right-wing Supreme Court “for a generation”:
No one thinks John McCain would nominate ethically-challenged judges. But there is every reason to think that he will nominate ideological conservatives to the Supreme Court and lower federal courts. This is important because federal courts are already dominated by Republican appointees. Seven of the nine Justices, and a sizeable majority of lower federal court judges were appointed by Republican presidents. With the Courts' liberal/moderate judges on average 15 years older than the Court's conservatives, John McCain in the White House could easily deliver the Court to the right wing for a generation.The far right clearly understands this, which is why they have forced McCain to profess ever more stridently his devotion to their Supreme Court cause. As I've argued in more detail here, it's troubling that progressive and moderate voters seem to care so much less about this critical issue. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-kendall/fearing-the-mccain-suprem_b_87101.html
So, why do I feel that some Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans are asleep on the critical issue of what the courts in America will look like for the next 30 years? Why do I feel that the Clinton supporters who say they’ll vote for McCain over Obama “throw the baby out with the bathwater”? Why do I think that Ralph Nader and disgruntled progressives who say support him over Obama are in need of a critical dose of reality? I need only look at the answers given by McCain and Obama to a recent question from Rev. Rick Warren on “Who on the current Supreme Court would you not have nominated?”
McCain said he would have never nominated Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens.‘"His nomination should be based on the criteria on a proven record of strictly adhering to the Constitution and not legislating from the bench," McCain added. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/index.html
John McCain’s quick response to Warren’s question was meant to send a message to conservatives everywhere of just what a future Supreme Court will look like under a McCain Presidency. McCain certainly tried to make the point with his response that this was a Big Issue with him even though he voted in the Senate to confirm three of those justices* (McCain was not in the Senate when Stephens was nominated). There has been some criticism of McCain from the far-right in the past that he might compromise on Supreme Court nominations because of his association with the “Gang of 14” in 2005, but, according to Neil A. Lewis in an article for the New York Times:
Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has already asserted that if elected he would reinforce the conservative judicial counterrevolution that began with President Ronald Reagan by naming candidates for the bench with a reliable conservative outlook.… In his 22 years in the Senate, Mr. McCain has never been a major player in the judicial wars. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, said Mr. McCain "has never been really interested in judges. It’s sort of something far afield because his interests are otherwise," Mr. Specter said. Like Mr. McCain, neither Mr. Reagan nor Mr. Bush was a lawyer and, adopting the same rhetoric as Mr. McCain is now using, they became enthusiastic instruments of those conservative lawyers who were diligent in choosing conservative judicial nominees. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/us/politics/28judges.html?pagewanted=print
Now, back to that interview question about the Supreme Court from Rev. Rick Warren last week: Barack Obama gave a much more measured response to Rev. Warren’s question. He said he would not have nominated Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court: “I don’t think that he was a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time, for that elevation, setting aside the fact that I profoundly disagree with his interpretations of a lot of the constitution.” Obama, a Constitutional lawyer who taught the subject for more than 10 years at the University of Chicago, continued on to state he would not have nominated Anthony Scalia or John Roberts, even though they were highly qualified, even brilliant jurists. Focusing on John Roberts, his remarks were the most revealing of what kind of a President he will be in supporting a strong and independent judiciary branch:
He’s [Roberts] clearly smart — very thoughtful. I will tell you that how I’ve seen him operate since he went to the bench confirms the suspicions that I had, and the reason that I voted against him. And I’ll give you one very specific instance…. One of the most important jobs of, I believe, the Supreme Court is to guard against the encroachment of the executive branch on the power of the other branches. And I think that he has been a little bit too willing and eager to give an administration — whether it’s mine, or George Bush’s — more power than I think the Constitution originally intended. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12582.html [emphasis added]
And THAT, my friends, is reason enough to vote for Barack Obama over John McCain as the next President of the United States of America.
* McCain voted to confirm Supreme Court Justices Ginsberg, Beyer, and Souter: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00232, http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=2&vote=00242, http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=101&session=2&vote=00259
Earlier this summer, the John McCain campaign began airing ads here in New Mexico which painted an epic picture of John McCain as a "True American" and war hero. Currently, the McCain campaign has begun a series of ads which paint Senator Obama as being form without substance, a self-serving seeker of celebrity, and even the Anti-Christ. Unfortunately, many voters are influenced by such ads in making their choice on whom to vote for President. In truth, many voters know so little about John McCain’s background and his Campaign Strategist has tried very hard to show him as an "average guy" with his finger on the pulse of American attitudes and aspirations. Electing this man as President would subject our Nation to another mediocre politician whose own life experience is far removed from that of the average American. Worse, he is a man still trapped in the last century, still seeing the world in Cold War terms, unable to understand the new world with new realities, technologies and alliances. Here are a few biographical facts about John McCain you may not have known:
As a student, John McCain had little patience and discipline, especially for subjects that didn’t interest him, possibly because he didn’t have to work hard to succeed. The son and grandson of 4 Star Admirals, John McCain came from a privileged background. He attended a private preparatory school (Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA http://www.episcopalhighschool.org/about/mccaininfo.html). He didn’t have to pay for college because he was admitted to the Naval Academy where all tuition and board is paid by the American taxpayers. His class rank was 894th of 899. While a Naval pilot, he lost 5 naval aircraft, four in accidents and one in combat when, on his 23rd combat mission in Vietnam, he was shot down and became a prisoner of war for five years http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/cin_mccain_lost_five_u.htm.
Come meet East Mountain supporters of Barack Obama. Join the Statewide Canvass this weekend.
Meeting Location/Time Change for this Thursday, August 7th: We will meet at the outdoor covered area adjacent (west) to the Just Imagine Coffee Shop where the Tijeras Open Air Art Market is held on weekends (on Old Hwy 66/NM Hwy 333) in Tijeras-across from the East Mountain Library). We will be there 6PM-8PM so we do hope you can make it sometime in that time frame. Directions: Exit 175 from I-40 and go west on Hwy 333 for about a quarter mile. You can park in the dirt parking lot on the south side of Hwy 333 or in the library parking lot across the street.
Thursday Agenda: We will have some reports from our Voter Registration Events in the past week and we will hear about the Platform Meetings held in Edgewood and Tijeras this month. Also, we will be providing information about the weekend neighborhood canvassing we will be doing Saturday and Sunday. This is a Statewide Event and we will be canvassing neighborhoods in the East Mountains. If you cannot or do not want to walk a neighborhood this weekend, please bring a cell phone (the Obama campaign will also have some cell phones for you to use) and we will spend an hour calling East Mountain voters using call lists/scripts provided to you at the meeting. You can also take a list home and make calls from your home.
Saturday Aug. 9/Sunday Aug. 10 Statewide Canvass: Canvass an East Mountain neighborhood. Pick up/return a walk list from a location (TBD) in the East Mountains at 10AM/1PM/4PM on Saturday and/or 1PM and 4PM on Sunday. Sign up online for Saturday here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/nmcanvass89/44bw9
In these days of the All Volunteer Army, I fear too many Americans are oblivious to the sacrifices of our servicemen and women on our behalf. I am pleased to see several new groups and the growth of existing groups dedicated to Veterans, active duty soldiers and their families supporting Barack Obama for President: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/vetshome
Friends and families of our soldiers can help them make sure their vote will be counted in the upcoming Presidential Election for their Commander-in-Chief. Let them know about the Military Voter Services Web site: https://military.overseasvotefoundation.org/overseas/home.htm
Also, here in New Mexico, we would like to identify Veterans and active-duty military and their families who are supporting Barack Obama and would like to know about future veteran-related events in the next few months. For more information or to get on a contact list, please send your name, mailing address, home/cell phone, rank, branch and dates of service and email address to Jim_Buhaug@msn.com.
Here is a powerful new video "How You Ended the War" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frR0qklU1_o. Watch it, then make a donation to Barack Obama's campaign. We cannot wait any longer to bring good judgement and sanity back to the White House.
The focus for change in this country has found a home within the Obama movement with all different types of people and viewpoints making up the rank and file engaged in passionate discussion over ideas. It is the essence of America to be free to talk about what we believe in -- and it feels very good. But I believe there are many citizens who run from conflict and do not want to engage in the discussion of ideas. This happens for many reasons: people generally want to maintain harmony and good relations with their co-workers, family members, and neighbors. They fear losing face, ostracism, loss of income, etc. In our East Mountains for Obama group last week, we started talking about this battle of ideas and what is the best way to persuade others. We discussed the problem that many people are moved by emotion-based feelings and arguments. Our culture and mass media (particularly advertising and political debate) often choose quick results and short-term solutions and therefore emotional appeals bombard us daily. In my opinion, that is why our organizations, our communities, our workplaces, and our governments fail to communicate effectively to solve long-term and difficult problems. Many people are not satisfied with how a politician deals with a specific issue they have strong feelings about, and they often get angry or frustrated. Their attempts to communicate their differences frequently become emotional...and their message gets lost. Sometimes we say we really feel "hate" for others, give them emotional labels, such as "the devil incarnate" or "the axis of evil". But have these attempts to express our anger and distrust of another accomplished anything except to release our emotions, to "vent" our anger? The appeal of Barack Obama is that he advocates communication aimed at arriving at long-term solutions. His appeal is that he does not advocate hatred and that he constantly re-focuses us to "keep our eye on the prize". I received a recent email (via the Buddhists for Obama listserv) from Diane Wright in North Carolina. I want to share her words because they spoke well to this issue in her email which read as follows:
This is what His Holiness the Dalai Lama has to say about hate.
“Anger and hatred cannot bring harmony. The noble task of arms control and disarmament cannot be accomplished by confrontation and condemnation. Hostile attitudes only serve to heat up the situation, whereas a true sense of respect gradually cools down what otherwise could become explosive. We must recognize the frequent contradictions between short-term benefit and long-term harm.” I believe that this explains a great way in not only addressing people we disagree with on particular positions that have an array nuanced opinions but also the harm they are reaping (with fellow Obama supporters). Even though we supporters of the progressive movement and Obama in particular appear to have contradictions, this is a short term problem. By speaking with hate it may give the speaker a short term benefit, but create increased long term harm. Could anyone imagine a McCain presidency? How could anyone that supports Obama or even the Progressive Movement feel that by picking one thing they don’t agree with Obama on and “hating” him for it would be good for our country? To me if you really are a supporter of change and progress and are promoting hate, thus you are a McCain supporter and look forward to another war and increased military involvement as well as a wrecked economy. I am in no way saying that we should not have differences, but the eye should be on the prize, not for the benefit of feeling good about venting. Diane R. Wright dwright@ncbar.org
“Anger and hatred cannot bring harmony. The noble task of arms control and disarmament cannot be accomplished by confrontation and condemnation. Hostile attitudes only serve to heat up the situation, whereas a true sense of respect gradually cools down what otherwise could become explosive. We must recognize the frequent contradictions between short-term benefit and long-term harm.”
I believe that this explains a great way in not only addressing people we disagree with on particular positions that have an array nuanced opinions but also the harm they are reaping (with fellow Obama supporters). Even though we supporters of the progressive movement and Obama in particular appear to have contradictions, this is a short term problem. By speaking with hate it may give the speaker a short term benefit, but create increased long term harm. Could anyone imagine a McCain presidency? How could anyone that supports Obama or even the Progressive Movement feel that by picking one thing they don’t agree with Obama on and “hating” him for it would be good for our country? To me if you really are a supporter of change and progress and are promoting hate, thus you are a McCain supporter and look forward to another war and increased military involvement as well as a wrecked economy. I am in no way saying that we should not have differences, but the eye should be on the prize, not for the benefit of feeling good about venting. Diane R. Wright dwright@ncbar.org
I love all the Groups I joined at http://my.barackobama.com I just returned from our second meeting of my local East Mountains for Obama Group. We had 12 enthusiastic people from the surrounding neighborhoods in the rural mountain country east of Albuquerque, NM. We have voter registration events and platform events planned on topics like Building Small Businesses in rural America. Former Richardson, Clinton, Edwards, Obama, and Kucinich supporters coming together for the common good of our rural communities and our Nation.
Moms for Obama has been super active for the past year and now Michelle Obama is blogging on a women's Blog: http://www.blogher.com/lets-talk and we can talk about issues important to us women and Moms with the next First Lady!
All my Buddhist friends at Buddhists for Obama are excitedly chatting away about our potential next President being as close to having a Buddha Nature as any President we have known and Lama Surya Das was on the Colbert Show http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=176174 talking about why Obama might want to consider becoming a Buddhist http://surya.org/wp/?p=87 and I know Thich Nhat Hahn is watching the US election with great Metta.
I am excited to see the San Diego for Obama Group having Phone Banks to call voters in New Mexico (yes, we do want to hear from you!)
And I see my Grassroots for Obama New Mexico, now New Mexico for Obama, will soon retire to let the full time OFA staff take over and set up offices throughout New Mexico!
Wow!!! Obama '08 is bringing us together via an amazing exponential expansion of a true grassroots movement. What a country!!!
I was very sad when I saw this cover http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/13/yikes-controversial-emnew_n_112429.html . They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I don't care if The New Yorker 18 page article inside explains the ridiculousness of the Obama smear campaign -- this picture has already become the newest face of that smear campaign. No title exists on the cover to infer that this picture is connected to an article about a false rumor campaign. It indeed will be circulated in a million e-mails to help perpetuate false rumors and hatred of the Obama family. They do not deserve this. I am the first to defend Free Speech, but what passes for free speech here (the cover) promotes vitriolic hate speech that is no different from a lynch mob mentality. The most hateful (and painful comment) I read in the on-line reader comments about this cover was: "Obama is my nightmare. He is anti American and his wife and friends are racist anti Americans as well. Child Services should take those 2 adorable girls away from them." Is this the kind of response The New Yorker wants to generate with their provocative sense of satire? This picture does nothing to advance America's struggle to heal our deeply fractured racial relations. The elitism and smugness of the editorial staff of The New Yorker have, in effect, merged with the deliberateness of Rove and Neo-Con tactics to defeat a Democratic President in 2008. THIS kind of political debate is exactly what made Barack Obama and his family decide that he must run for President NOW. And it is why we supporters feel his campaign is just the antidote needed to heal our divided and rudderless Nation.
Got another one of those awful emails forwarded to me. You know the kind of viral emails that are forwarded to you from a "well-meaning" relative or friend who wants to make you aware of the "Real Barack Hussein Obama" and it has all the racial and religious nonsense. I no longer delete them, but instead I research the facts and "reply to all". This one below was forwarded by my Aunt in North Carolina. Of course, I am not naive to think I can sway everyone with the truth. My Ann Coulter-loving sister in Oregon now "blocks" my email. Anyway, perhaps you can fight back with facts or "cut and paste" my letter in response to the email smears. I always insert pictures of Barack and his family in my reply, too.
I am not a fan of these kinds of anonymous smear emails but since questions were asked (below in CAPS), I have answered them as truthfully as possible after doing a bit of research. I generally oppose forwarding any email, but this election is just too important to ignore the fake emails and garbage being circulated. I hope you’ll read my answers (below in italics) because I spent a lot of hours researching it. I think it’s only fair that you ask the same questions about John McCain, so I answered some of the questions about him, too (at the end). I will gladly vote for Barack Obama this November.
Thank you,
From: Phyllis Goldblatt
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 7:29 PM
Subject: Fw: a good analysis FWD BY A WW II VET
>
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR NEW CHIEF PILOT.HE HAS NEVER FLOWN AN AIRPLANE, IN FACT HE HAS NEVER EVEN SAT IN THE COCKPIT, BUT HE SAYS HE HAS RIDDEN ON PLANES BEFORE. WE ARE SURE HE WILL GUIDE US SAFELY THROUGH THE STORMS WE MAY ENCOUNTER ON THIS FLIGHT. DO I HAVE THIS STRAIGHT? HIS FATHER WAS A BLACK AFRICAN MUSLIM FROM KENYA. WE HAVE SEEN PICTURES OF HIS AFRICAN FAMILY.HIS MOTHER WAS A WHITE AMERICAN ATHEIST FROM KANSAS. WHERE ARE THE PICTURES OF HIS AMERICAN FA MILY?
I have to ask why you think national origin or religion of one’s family is an issue in this campaign? I think most Americans don’t know much about their family history more than 2-3 generations back. Our greatness as a Nation is that we are the most multi-ethnic society ever. Here’s what Fox News said about Barack Obama’s diverse upbringing and early family life: http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2007Feb06/0,4675,ObamaHawaiianRoots,00.html
Barack's mother, Stanley Ann Durham, died of ovarian cancer in 1975. Here are some great family album pictures:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/070323obama-early-photogallery,0,5458360.photogallery
http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/02/09/60minutes/photoessay2455502.shtml
HIS FATHER DESERTED HIS MOTHER WHEN HE WAS ONLY TWO YEARS OLD AND WENT BACK TO AFRICA BY WAY OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
Yes, his father left the family when Barack was very young. His mom and grandparents lovingly raised Barack, Jr., or “Barry” as he was known, in Hawaii. It was painful and confusing to a young man to grow up without a father, as it is for millions of kids from broken homes. Barry met his father just one more time before Barack, Sr. died in a car accident in Kenya when Barack, Jr. was 21 years old. After completing Law School, Barack Obama decided to find out just who his father was and wrote a book (Dreams from My Father (1995) about his own “coming of age” journey and his search for his father’s legacy. He found out that his father died bitter and broke in Kenya, never having found the success and dreams of his ambitions as one of the US-educated young men of a newly independent African nation in the late 50’s and 60’s. Because of his own personal experience, Barack Obama, Jr. values the role of father as one of the most important roles of a man today: “Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it. But if we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”
Barack Obama, June 15, 2008 http://www.barackobama.com/2008/06/15/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_78.php
HOW?
Scholarships. Barack Obama, Sr. attended British colonial schools in Kenya and won a scholarship to study in Nairobi and “then on the eve of Kenyan independence, he had been selected by Kenyan leaders and American sponsors to attend a university in the United States, joining the first large wave of Africans to be sent to master western technology and bring it back to forge a new, modern Arica. In 1959, at the age of twenty-three, he arrived at the University of Hawaii as that institution’s first African student. He studied econometrics, worked with unsurpassed concentration, and graduated in three years at the top of his class. He won another scholarship—this time to pursue his Ph.D. at Harvard—but not the money to take his new family with him. A separation occurred, and he returned to Africa to fulfill his promise to the continent.” (from: Dreams from My Father, by B.H. Obama, Jr., p.9-10).
WAS HIS FATHER WEALTHY?
"Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., was born in 1936 on the shores of Lake Victoria in Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya" where his father was a goat farmer. "His father, Hussein Onyango Obama... had travelled widely, enlisting...in the British colonial forces during World War I" before "working as a cook for missionaries in Nairobi". Barack, Sr. received financial assistance to get an education in the US from a program for outstanding African scholars. Some of the "financial supporters of the program included Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Jackie Robinson, and Elizabeth Mooney Kirk, a literacy advocate who provided most of the financial support for Obama Sr.'s early years in the United States....On his return to Kenya, Obama Sr. was hired by an oil company and then served as an economist in the Ministry of Transportation, and later became senior economist in the Kenyan Ministry of Finance." (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_Sr.)
HIS MOTHER MARRIED AN INDONESIAN MUSLIM AND THEN MOVED TO JAKARTA WHERE HE WAS ENROLLED IN A MUSLIM SCHOOL.
Barack Obama attended both Catholic and Muslim elementary schools in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 1967-1971. His mother then sent him back to the US to live with his grandparents in Hawaii because she was concerned that he get the best education possible. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-islam-story,0,7180545.story If you care to view a video of the Muslim School, here is a video clip made in 2007 and it includes photos from when Barack Obama attended the school: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2007/01/22/vause.obama.school.cnn
WHEN HE REACHED HIGH SCHOOL AGE HIS MOTHER SENT HIM TO HAWAII TO BE WITH HIS WHITE GRANDPARENTS AND HE WAS PUT INTO AN EXPENSIVE PRIVATE SCHOOL.
Actually, Barack Obama, Jr. went to Punahou School in Honolulu from the 5th grade until his HS graduation in 1979. He attended on scholarship.
HE LATER WENT TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY. HOW?
Barack Obama was able to attend college on student loans and scholarships.
WERE HIS GRANDPARENTS RICH?
His grandfather was an enlisted soldier in WWII, then a salesman. His grandmother was a factory worker during WW II, later became a Bank Vice-President and the main bread winner of the family when Barack. Jr. was being raised by them.
HE LIVES IN A $1 4 MILLION HOUSE OBTAINED THROUGH A DEAL WITH A WEALTHY FUNDRAISER. HOW?
You have a typographical error here. The house is valued at about $1.4 million (not $14 million). Actually, the issue is about a 10 ft. strip of land adjoining the property that the Obama’s purchased from the Rezkos. They did not get a $1.4 million dollar home from a “wealthy fundraiser”. According to Media Matters for America: On the June 4 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Fox News contributor Dick Morris claimed that Chicago businessman Antoin Rezko, convicted that day on federal corruption charges, sold Sen. Barack Obama a strip of land "for an amount that was substantially below its apparent market value." However, according to documents posted on the Obama campaign website, Obama paid $104,166 for the piece of property -- well above its appraised value of $40,500. As Media Matters for America has noted, the property -- which is adjacent to Obama's house -- was purchased by Rezko's wife in June 2005 for $625,000, and the Obamas subsequently purchased one-sixth of the property. Obama told the Chicago Tribune in a March 14 interview how the price was determined: "[T]he appraisal did note that the other parcel, Rezko's remaining parcel, would be fully developable if he sold this to me. And so rather than pay the appraised price, I paid one-sixth of the cost of his property. He agreed to sell that 10-foot strip." (http://mediamatters.org/items/200806040009 )
Furthermore, there are 8 important facts about this issue you should know: http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/757340,CST-NWS-watchdog24.article
HE 'WORKED' AS A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN CHICAGO. HE HAS NEVER HELD A PRODUCTIVE JOB OR RECEIVED A PAY CHECK THAT WAS NOT GOVERNMENT-FUNDED AND/OR TAYPAYER SUPPORTED.
"Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[6] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[7] Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked at Business International Corporation and New York Public Interest Research Group.[8][9]
"After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side.[8][10] During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.[11] Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.[12] In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks then Kenya for five weeks where he met many of his Kenyan relatives for the first time.[13]
"Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the law review based on his grades and a writing competition.[14] In his second year he was elected president of the law review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.[15] Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.[15] He graduated with a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.[14][16]
"The publicity from his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations.[17] In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the University of Chicago Law School provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book.[17] He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir, at one point Obama retreated to Bali for several months with his wife, Michelle, to work on it without interruptions, before it was finally published as Dreams from My Father in mid-1995.[17]
"Obama directed Illinois Project Vote! from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.[18][19]
"Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years (1992–1996), and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years (1996–2004).[20]
"In 1993 Obama joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.[8][21]
"Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993.[8][22] He served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund Obama's DCP, from 1993–2002, and served on the board of directors of The Joyce Foundation from 1994–2002.[8] Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995–2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995–1999.[8] He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.[8] (Information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama)
THE PRESIDENCY IS NOT A CIVIL RIGHTS POSITION, NOR IS IT SUBJECT TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SET ASIDES; ON-THE-JOB TRAINING WON'T CUT IT.
I am completely unaware of any affirmative action program or set asides for electing the President of the United States. I did study the Constitution in high school but can’t find anything referencing what you say above. Perhaps you can point out to me where Barack Obama is running for President as a “civil rights position” or under “affirmative action set-asides”? Also, can you tell me of any President who didn’t go through “on-the-job” training? I believe Abraham Lincoln, former attorney and one term Congressman of Illinois, definitely faced “on-the-job training” facing the American Civil War in his first year of office.
HE ENTERED POLITICS AT THE STATE LEVEL AND THEN THE NATIONAL LEVEL WHERE HE HAS MINIMAL EXPERIENCE.
Just like Abraham Lincoln who had been a four-time state representative and then a U.S. Congressman for only 2 years. Also, I recall that Governors Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton completely skipped the “NATIONAL LEVEL” on their way to the White House.
HE IS PROUD OF HIS 'AFRICAN HERITAGE' (A FATHER WHO GOT A WHITE GIRL PREGNANT AND DESERTED HER).
“…got a white girl pregnant” – what is that about? Oh, I forgot, in your State that was “illegal” in 1960.
WHERE IS THE PRIDE IN HIS 'WHITE HERITAGE'? (A MOTHER WHO FLAUNTED CONVENTION AND DID NOT BELIEVE IN GOD).
I think Senator Obama is very proud of both heritages. He has the unique perspective to see both sides of racial issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU As an American, he freely chose his religion – becoming a Christian more than 20 years ago although his parents were both atheists. But this is one of our cherished freedoms guaranteed in our Bill of Rights -- we are not required to belong to a particular religion.
THINK LONG AND HARD BEFORE YOU VOTE FOR THIS GUY!
I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but NOT to their own facts. I’m sure you will analyze the Republican nominee, John S. McCain, with as much due diligence.
John McCain has not been employed by anyone but the U.S. taxpayer for the past 39 years: US Navy (1959-1981) and Congressman/Senator (1982-Present). John attended a private prep school. He attended the US Naval Academy (all tuition and expenses are paid by the American taxpayer) and graduated 5th from the bottom of his class: “McCain attended Episcopal High School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria.[8] In high school, he excelled at wrestling[9] and graduated in 1954.[10] Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. There, he was a friend and leader for many of his classmates,[11] and sometimes stood up for people who were being bullied.[6] He also became a lightweight boxer.[6][12] McCain had conflicts with higher-ups, and he was disinclined to obey every rule, which contributed to a low class rank (894/899) that he did not aim to improve.[11][13][14][15] McCain did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he disliked, such as math.[6] McCain graduated in 1958.[11) ) (From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain#Early_life_and_military_career )
John had well-off parents and grandparents (both his father and grandfather were Four Star Admirals) and he married into wealth with his second wife, Cindy Hensley, a multimillionaire heiress http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Hensley). John left his first wife and three children after he returned from his POW imprisonment in Vietnam and found that she had been horribly disfigured in a 1969 automobile accident. He began an extramarital relationship with Cindy (his current wife) before he was divorced from Carol.
(information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_McCain)
My father was a career Marine. He fought in WWII and lost his oldest brother on the island of Tarawa in the South Pacific during one of the most horrific of all WWII battles. His other brother became permanently disabled from a non-combat injury. My father was a working man who never finished high school and joined the Marines when he was only 17. My mother was from a poor Kansas farming family. Graduating from high school with high honors, she could not afford nor even dream of going to college. She was one of the first Women Marines and was a working woman all her life. Both my parents were fiercely self-sufficient, working class, and extremely frugal having come of age during the Great Depression. They were not religious, though they sent me and my sister to Sunday school at a local Methodist church. They were strongly supportive of family, eventually helping my sister and me to go to college and get degrees. In the 1960's when I was a teenager, there were many contradictions that led to a deep rift with my family. They did not like unions and they always voted Republican. My father supported Barry Goldwater in 1964. He loudly insulted the memory of JFK while we watched his State funeral after his assassination. When my sister had a Black class mate visit our home, my father asked that we never bring Black friends to our home again because "one day we would understand..." It was the first time I had ever seen racial prejudice expressed in our home. We had lived in Hawaii and California in highly diversified communities. The Corps was a highly integrated branch of the service. I could not fathom nor understand his words. I supported the United Farmworkers grape boycott as a high school senior, I supported our teachers strike. I was an activist who supported Eugene McCarthy because I knew the Viet Nam War was wrong. When I was a college freshman at MiraCosta Community College in Oceanside, California in 1968, I started a Young Democrats Club. I became an organizer for Cesar Chavez and the UFW in 1973. I later became a Machinist's Union member and eventually was elected to be a full-time Union Representative for 9 years. I watched my Party, the Democrats, lose Presidential election after election because people like my parents, working class folks who looked out for themselves and their family, continued to vote for conservative politicians. My parents were modest and self-reliant and took care of themselves until the day they died. They had helped to build a free and prosperous country, they had come from dirt-poor backgrounds, no one helped them and they asked no one for help. They did receive military and civil service benefits which helped them and their children with free medical care, low cost housing and groceries, and retirement pensions. They received Social Security retirement benefits for almost 10 years before they passed away from deadly diseases. They were able to buy their own home. They appreciated and loved America, especially after improving their lives from the Great Depression of the 1930's and surviving a World War. Both of their children were able to get public college educations without crippling student debt as they paid hundreds of dollars (not ten's of thousands of dollars) for their educational fees for high quality California colleges/universities.
How does a kid with this kind of nurturing become politically so different from her parents? I always tried to understand the point of view of others, to practice tolerance and to follow the "Golden Rule". I always wanted to understand what is the cause behind human thinking and actions. I studied Sociology more out of curiosity than anything else as I never chose a professional career in the social sciences. Indeed, I became a wage worker for most of my life. I knew that the Democrat Party was the political party for working people. But there were some rough times as the Democrats were alternatively dominated by Southern racists, pro-war politicians, "political correctness", narrow interest groups, and "latte drinking-Volvo driving elitists" (OK, I admit I loved my Volvo).
I was a disenchanted voter, holding my nose while I voted for a lot of "lesser of two evils" Democrat Party candidates. I wondered where was the progressives' call for integrity and honesty when Bill Clinton committed sexual misconduct while a sitting President and Commander-in-Chief. A man of principle would have resigned. Then, along came a Democrat who was saying the kinds of things I believed in. Barack Obama said out-loud the things I was thinking, first in his 2004 Democratic Convention speech and then in his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope. He not only spoke about the values of the Democratic Party I believed in, he also demonstrated it in his own and family values. He expressed the values of my parents (minus the racism, insularity, and short-sightedness that they sometimes expressed) and of what America represents to us as her citizens and to the world. I started working for Barack Obama for President in February, 2007 and am profoundly thankful that with his wisdom and organizational prowess, he has led our Democrat Party from an abyss of mediocrity and hypocrisy resulting from a long era of "identity politics". I have no doubt that that he will ultimately unite most Democrats and we will succeed in November, 2008. We have a way to go, but we are, at last, on our way to "One America."
I am proud to say I support MY Democrat Party today. I am proud of our Leader, Senator Barack Obama, and will gladly cast my vote for him as the next President of the United States of America. I am the blossom and fruit of my parents' legacy. I can think of no better way to honor the memory of my mother and my father than to do what I know is true and best for our Nation. We, the children of the working and middle classes, know that our roots and our family values are what make America and the Democrat Party strong.
The improbable campaign is nearing completion. We now shift to a National Presidential Campaign. When Barack Obama gave his speech on February 10, 2007 to announce his candidacy, there were few who believed that he would one day in 2008 be a Nominee for the President of the United States of America. What did he say more than one year ago to the crowd of supporters who gathered outside the old Illinois State House in Springfield, Illinois?
The genius of our founders is that they designed a system of government that can be changed. And we should take heart, because we've changed this country before. In the face of tyranny, a band of patriots brought an Empire to its knees. In the face of secession, we unified a nation and set the captives free. In the face of Depression, we put people back to work and lifted millions out of poverty. We welcomed immigrants to our shores, we opened railroads to the west, we landed a man on the moon, and we heard a King's call to let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.Each and every time, a new generation has risen up and done what's needed to be done. Today we are called once more - and it is time for our generation to answer that call.For that is our unyielding faith - that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.
That's what Abraham Lincoln understood. He had his doubts. He had his defeats. He had his setbacks. But through his will and his words, he moved a nation and helped free a people. It is because of the millions who rallied to his cause that we are no longer divided, North and South, slave and free. It is because men and women of every race, from every walk of life, continued to march for freedom long after Lincoln was laid to rest, that today we have the chance to face the challenges of this millennium together, as one people - as Americans.All of us know what those challenges are today - a war with no end, a dependence on oil that threatens our future, schools where too many children aren't learning, and families struggling paycheck to paycheck despite working as hard as they can. We know the challenges. We've heard them. We've talked about them for years.What's stopped us from meeting these challenges is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans. What's stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics - the ease with which we're distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle big problems. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1178202769/bclid1173351840/bctid494649996
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1178202769/bclid1173351840/bctid494649996
Now, as millions of Americans have seen the wisdom of these words become a reality in an incredibly effective grassroots-based organization, we have an immediate task to unite those Democrats and Independents who have been poisoned by lies and manipulations of those who have tried to preserve their power. In their pain of loss, many passionate Hillary Clinton supporters have said awful things about her opponent and even praised John McCain or spoken of voting for him in the General Election. We must be patient and bring these people into our campaign with positive action, not vitriolic and hate filled speech. We will not reach all, it's true. So we must continue to expose to new voters and new supporters the unifying and postive message of Senator Obama. We must not become complacent nor haughty. We must continue to build the movement begun in February. 2007. I have registered or updated the registration of almost 250 voters since October 2007. My goal is to register or update the registration of 1000 new voters in my state of New Mexico by October, 2008! I hope to talk to every potential voter in my Precinct by November 3, 2008, to influence them to vote for Barack Obama for President. I believe each supporter of Senator Obama needs to do something to make our campaign effective and win New Mexico and other States for Obama. Without us, the People, we cannot make the necessary changes to fulfill the promise of America for present and future generations. As Senator Obama said on February 10, 2007, as he invoked the improbable campaign of Abraham Lincoln's Presidency:
I know there are those who don't believe we can do all these things. I understand the skepticism. After all, every four years, candidates from both parties make similar promises, and I expect this year will be no different. All of us running for president will travel around the country offering ten-point plans and making grand speeches; all of us will trumpet those qualities we believe make us uniquely qualified to lead the country. But too many times, after the election is over, and the confetti is swept away, all those promises fade from memory, and the lobbyists and the special interests move in, and people turn away, disappointed as before, left to struggle on their own.That is why this campaign can't only be about me. It must be about us - it must be about what we can do together. This campaign must be the occasion, the vehicle, of your hopes, and your dreams. It will take your time, your energy, and your advice - to push us forward when we're doing right, and to let us know when we're not. This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, and realizing that few obstacles can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.By ourselves, this change will not happen. Divided, we are bound to fail.But the life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible.He tells us that there is power in words.He tells us that there is power in conviction.That beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people.He tells us that there is power in hope.As Lincoln organized the forces arrayed against slavery, he was heard to say: "Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought to battle through."That is our purpose here today.That's why I'm in this race.Not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation.I want to win that next battle - for justice and opportunity.I want to win that next battle - for better schools, and better jobs, and health care for all.I want us to take up the unfinished business of perfecting our union, and building a better America.And if you will join me in this improbable quest, if you feel destiny calling, and see as I see, a future of endless possibility stretching before us; if you sense, as I sense, that the time is now to shake off our slumber, and slough off our fear, and make good on the debt we owe past and future generations, then I'm ready to take up the cause, and march with you, and work with you. Together, starting today, let us finish the work that needs to be done, and usher in a new birth of freedom on this Earth.
If you have not read "The Audacity of Truth" by Barack Obama, may I strongly suggest that this book be your first "summer read". And, concurrently, please think what you can do to insure that your State is won for the Democrats this November. There are but 5 months left to win every vote we can for President Barack Obama and begin to turn the page on a painful past.
"We all made this journey for a reason. It's humbling, but in my heart I know you didn't come here just for me, you came here because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of a politics that's shut you out, that's told you to settle, that's divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people, reaching for what's possible, building that more perfect union." Senator Barack Obama, February 10, 2007
"We all made this journey for a reason. It's humbling, but in my heart I know you didn't come here just for me, you came here because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of a politics that's shut you out, that's told you to settle, that's divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people, reaching for what's possible, building that more perfect union."
Senator Barack Obama, February 10, 2007
