Palin Pleased with Obama's Energy Plan Includes Alaska's Natural Gas Reserves
August 4, 2008, Fairbanks, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today responded to the energy plan put forward by the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, Illinois Senator BarackObama.
"I am pleased to see Senator Obama acknowledge the huge potential Alaska's natural gas reserves represent in terms of clean energy and sound jobs," Governor Palin said. "The steps taken by the Alaska State Legislature this past week demonstrate that we are ready, willing and able to supply the energy our nation needs."
In a speech given in Lansing, Michigan, Senator Obama called for the completion of the Alaska natural gas pipeline, stating, "Over the next five years, we should also lease more of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and gas production. And we should also tap more of our substantial natural gas reserves and work with the Canadian government to finally build the Alaska natural gas pipeline, delivering clean natural gas and creating good jobs in the process."
Governor Palin also acknowledged the Senator's proposal to offer $1,000 rebates to those struggling with the high cost of energy.
"We in Alaska feel that crunch and are taking steps to address it right here at home," GovernorPalin said. "This is a tool that must be on the table to buy us time until our long-term energyplans can be put into place. We have already enjoyed the support of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, and it is gratifying to see Senator Obama get on board."
The Governor did question the means to pay for Obama's proposed rebate — a windfall profits tax on oil companies. In Alaska, the state's resource valuation system, ACES, provides strong incentives for companies to re-invest their profits in new production.
"Windfall profits taxes alone prevent additional investment in domestic production. Without new supplies from American reserves, our dependency and addiction to foreign sources of oil will continue," Governor Palin said.
( I did not write this article and will not take credit for it – Simply reposting Purposes)
Today is a proud day for all of us who fought so hard to ensure Floridians votes are fully counted.
Just minutes ago, Sen. Barack Obama sent a letter to the DNC credentials committee urging them to restore the full vote of the Michigan and Florida Delegations, proving his commitment to uniting the party and ending the uncertainty surrounding the process.
With Florida's economy in recession for the first time in 16 years, our state leading the nation in job loss, and we are number two in foreclosures, Floridians in every corner of our state are excited to elect Barack Obama and other Democrats this fall to bring change to Washington and Florida. The people of Florida know Barack Obama and other Democrats will rebuild our economy, create good jobs, and lower gas prices and homeowners insurance rates.
I want to thank Barack Obama, the Florida Congressional Delegation, the Democrats in our Legislature, and voters across Florida for fighting to have our votes count. This is a proud day for all of us.
If you weren't able to be there in person for Dr. Maya Soetero-Ng's great speech in Tampa last night, check out the YouTube video and then read the write-up in today's St. Petersburg Times:
Local Obama supporters participated in Tampa Bay area 4th of July parades. About 50 Obama supporters represented Senator Obama at the 2008 Temple Terrace 4th of July Parade.
Lydia Hudson did an outstanding job of organizing the O-Train's participation in the Temple Terrace Parade.
Most people along the parade route loved seeing the cardboard cut-out of Senator Obama. The most common reaction was a big smile as they grabbed their cameras to snap a picture.
We were right behind Keven Beckner supporters:
The Mitch Mobile:
The crowd participated in our Obama chants! "Be a part of something great, Obama '08"
Hannity needs to vet his guests more because it seems that time and time again he has people on his show that seem like they are about to support his view of an Obama loss to McCain. Shelby Steele, Author of a A Bound Man, is now second guessing his subtitle "Why He Can't Win". Shelby now believes, like millions of other Americans, that Obama [can] win. Watch this snippet and have yourself a chuckle!
I would like to take this moment to congratulate Sen. Barack Obama on his ability and decision to opt out of the public financing system. It goes to show that when you have enough people supporting you then anything can be accomplished. Obama is the first presidential candidate in modern day history that will run a race solely on private funding. Private funding from citizens of this country who directly support a man they believe to be [the] answer to change in Washington.
There are people who will bash him and say that he's just another politician who will do whatever, even if it means going back on his word. Barack never committed to accepting public funding, he simply agreed to sit down and discus the option with his opponent, whomever that happened to be; in this case, it's Sen. John McCain.
In my opinion it would be a crime, not to accept the funding he has fought so hard for. I, as well as 1.5 million Americans, told him, with our contributions, that we will be there for him, now and throughout his entire campaign. Based on this decision I will donate again. He is true to his word about changing the way Washington does business, so I implore everyone to donate today. Even if it's just $5, it will send another strong message to Barack and the nation… We support this decision!
I want to start with a disclaimer; I am a huge Barack Obama Fan, DID I SAY HUGE!!! As a matter of fact, I intend on going to the inauguration January 29th, 2009. As much as I respect and love to see him in the White House I also have to disagree with his stance on drilling for our own oil.
I think American's tend to look at things short term rather than long term, example… the war in Iraq. Americans, that supported the war in 2003, did not look at the long term affects. They were sold the idea that we must act quickly to restore our safety, so most thought with their emotions and not with their minds.
I know what most of you are thinking… that's not the same thing! No it isn't, but we must think with our minds and not with the emotions of saving bears in Alaska.
Now, I'm not saying that Barack is thinking of the bears but I am saying he's not thinking long term. If you look at countries that drill their own oil and sell it to the rest of the world, USA, you will see a pattern; they subsidize fuel cost to their citizens. Consequently, many of them have done so at a huge cost, such as Venezuela, but America and Americans are smarter than that. We can find ways to subsidize oil at the same time allowing major companies like ExxonMobile to earn a profit. They should be allowed to earn a profit because that's what American was built on, Capitalism.
He has brought up the notion of alternative fuels such as Wind Turbines but that's just a start, more need s to be done. We need to supply ourselves we natural resources we already own.
I don't believe we can spend billions on unproven technologies, such as Ethanol, and not spend some money drilling for our own oil in Alaska and or the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling for our own oil like we use to do in West Texas will not have negative consequences; it will help our curb dependency from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela or even little ole Libya [Link]. Why import Oil from a country that we consider an enemy, a country that exports 85 thousand barrels a day. Compare that to Canada's export to the USA of 1.9 million a day and it seems pointless.
Barack is by far the most qualified to run our country and I will vote for him but, I will not agree that it's ok to continue to import a commodity that we certainly can get on our own.
This Sunday, Senator Obama gave an address on fathers, their importance to the family - and the responsibility they have to their children. From the speech:
Yes, we need more cops on the street. Yes, we need fewer guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them. Yes, we need more money for our schools, and more outstanding teachers in the classroom, and more afterschool programs for our children. Yes, we need more jobs and more job training and more opportunity in our communities.
But we also need families to raise our children. We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child - it's the courage to raise one. Source: The Huffington Post
It is little more than 5 minutes since I found out that Tim Russert has passed and I have not allowed enough time to process his loss, discover what he meant, or form a cogent thought about it. I imagine no time will ever be sufficient.
But Mr. Russert seemed like my friend, or more truthfully, like my dad. I looked forward to Sundays intensely. Meet The Press made politics relevant for me; I rarely legitimized any political story until Mr. Russert covered it. As a student of politics and of journalism, I saw no greater steward of those traditions than Tim Russert. No politician earned his or her mettle unless he or she sat down for an hour with Tim. I will miss him and journalism has lost its best today.
Quite often, Tim Russert reminded me of my own father; they share the same best qualities--sharp, tirelessly hardworking, quick-witted, yet even-tempered, breathtakingly smart, warm, calm. Indeed, once, while watching Meet The Press with my dad several years ago, he let on about his own admiration of Mr. Russert. "That Tim," my dad said, grinning, "he doesn't let you get away with much, does he?"
He had a keen ear, the best memory of anyone I have ever seen, and cared deeply for what he did and for the subjects on which he reported. He was the best there was.
Tim Russert had a profound effect on me. On Sundays, he was my teacher. I learned, though him, to analyze all facts, sift through all the information to get to that nugget of truth, and to ask questions clearly and poignantly. I became a better thinker, a better writer, and better citizen because of it. And I won't forget it.
He passed today doing what he loved and I am sure he regrets not living to see the conclusion of the best political season in decades.
The news today has me thinking of Edward R. Murrow--the only other journalist who meant as much to his profession as Tim--and his words ring in my ears: “To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.”
One of Senator McCain's favorite things to accuse Senator Obama on is that he's a "tax and spend liberal." This is usually followed by a hearty call of "OMG if you vote for Obama *everyone's* taxes will go up and we'll DIE!"
OK - maybe not that dour. But the basic accusation is there: vote for Obama, and "your taxes go up".
Only problem? For the majority of people, it's not true.
The Daily Kos put together some numbers from the Tax Policy Center that show the average taxpayer making less than $112,000 a year pays *less* taxes under Senator Obama's tax plan. That's right - more money to the middle class and poor that actually need it, instead of tax breaks that the wealthiest 1% never asked for (well, unless you're friends of President Bush and Senator McCain).
Sadly, some people just can't debate the issues - they have to go into the same silly politics we see all the time. So what do you do when someone says "I heard Barack wasn't born in America!" Or "Is it true that Barack one bench pressed 500 pounds then dropped the weights on top of a bus full of nuns?"
The answer to both questions are, of course, no. But there will be idiots and inflamers who try to spread such innuendo and rumor as fact. So how do you fight back? FighttheSmears.com leads right to an official Obama web site. Get the Rapid Response by signing up for the email group.
Don't let a lie stand alone - hit it back with the truth.
Next week Senator Obama will go into even more detail - but for the outline of how he wants to bring the United States out of our current economic woes and chart a better future, you'll have to read his speech. My personal favorite part?
I understand that the challenges facing our economy didn't start the day George Bush took office and they won't end the day he leaves. Some are partly the result of forces that have globalized our economy over the last several decades – revolutions in communication and technology have sent jobs wherever there's an internet connection; that have forced children in Raleigh and Boston to compete for those jobs with children in Bangalore and Beijing. We live in a more competitive world, and that is a fact that cannot be reversed.
But I also know that this nation has faced such fundamental change before, and each time we've kept our economy strong and competitive by making the decision to expand opportunity outward; to grow our middle-class; to invest in innovation, and most importantly, to invest in the education and well-being of our workers.
The Root passed along a wonderful idea - an Obama Media Diet, which features such healthy new inputs as:
Look for organic and locally-grown politics. I am purging my political cupboards of the packaged and preservative-laden political approaches that parties have been feeding us for decades. I am especially vigilant to throw out anything that expired in 2000. In its place I am going to support political efforts that have emerged from local communities. Ordinary citizens are doing significant work in neighborhoods and cities to fight global warming, improve education, battle HIV-AIDS, increase racial tolerance, develop economic opportunities, stop genocide in Darfur, address malaria in Africa and end the war in Iraq. I am filling up my political plate with their fresh ideas and organic approaches.
Save the date! It's official. The next President of the United States, Senator Barack Obama, is coming to Tampa on Wednesday, May 21. This will be a day event. Further details concerning exact time and location will be released as soon as we know--likely mid-day tomorrow (Thursday). Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. For now, get excited and tell everyone you know about it. It is happening.
"A More Perfect Union" Remarks of Senator Barack Obama Constitution Center Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
As Prepared for Delivery
“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution – a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part – through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.
This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.
This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.
I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.
Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.
This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either “too black” or “not black enough.” We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.
And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.
On one end of the spectrum, we’ve heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it’s based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we’ve heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.
I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely – just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way
But the truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:
“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories tha t we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”
That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.
Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.
This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What’s remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.
But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn’t make it – those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicia ns, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician’s own failings.
And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committ ed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren’t always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze – a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns – this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy – particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.
But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances – for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives – by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.
Ironically, this quintessentially American – and yes, conservative – notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright’s sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.
The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country – a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen – is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope – the audacity to hope – for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds – by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.
In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.
For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle – as we did in the OJ trial – or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she’s playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.
We can do that.
But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.
That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, “Not this time.” This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.
This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
I would not be running for President if I didn’t believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation – the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.
There is one story in particularly that I’d like to leave you with today – a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King’s birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn’t. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.
Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”
“I’m here because of Ashley.” By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.
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EMBARGOED FOR DELIVERY March 18, 2008 Obama Press Office, 312-819-2423
Send Hillary a Women's History Month card - thanking her for having the guts to run, for standing up to the media, for being a role model for girls everywhere, and for making history.
It's Women's History Month - and who is making more history for women than Hillary Clinton?
The problem is that Hillary Clinton is making history by using devious and disloyal campaign tactics. That is a horrible legacy to give to our daughters and granddaughters. Her recent behavior and tactics have made me sick to my stomach.
So, I sent a card to Hillary Clinton but I didn't use their script:
Thanks for making history and standing up for women everywhere! We appreciate you having the guts to run, for standing up to the media and for giving girls everywhere something to dream of. Happy Women's History Month!
I used my own words instead:
Dear Hillary,
I am a woman who used to admire you. Over the years, I have defended you time and time again. But this time, I cannot defend your actions because I believe that you crossed the line during this campaign. Your desperate Republican-like tactics of fear-mongering, insidious, bigoted, whisper campaigns and your support of John McCain over fellow Democratic candidate Barack Obama have disappointed me greatly.
I signed a loyalty pledge to never support a Republican candidate over a Democratic candidate. Did you sign a similar loyalty oath? Your betrayal cuts me to the core and I don’t know if I can forgive you for that.
The shame is that we have one amazing candidate who is rebuilding our party and country block by block, precinct by precinct, city by city, state by state, while the other one is trying to tear us all apart for her own ambitions.
My three daughters and I are proud to be supporting Senator Barack Obama for President. We believe that we are supporting the best candidate for the job.
Best wishes as you continue your work as a Senator from NY. I hope that you work hard to regain our respect and trust.
If you wish to send your own card to Hillary, by all means, do so here: NOW PAC
As the race for the Democratic nomination lumbers on toward the all-important contests in Guam and Puerto Rico (I wish I was joking), many Obama supporters have become increasingly aware of a chilling paradox in the way we receive our "news". Some supporters wonder why the very same networks that once dismissed the specter of Clinton wins in Ohio and Texas as incapable of alleviating her delegate deficit decided instead to celebrate those wins as a comeback of religious proportions this past Tuesday night. They wonder how the media can so effortlessly turn a tombstone into a triumph or, in the words of Bob Dylan, "make night out of the daytime and paint the daytime black." It is increasingly clear that the same people who carry themselves as objective deliverers of the news are in fact the sorcerers of a home-spun reality they manufacture to maximize profit, one in which plastic smiles are plastered across the rouge-crusted faces of blonde bobbleheads that read the copy their puppet masters fax them from headquarters. Is it just me, or have our televisions become chapters in a lost Aldous Huxley thriller?
A delegate race that outlasts the NBA playoffs is a cash cow for the CNNs and MSNBCs of the world; one can only imagine the hand-wringing behind the scenes as suspendered executives chortle and swipe the ashes of imported cigars from revised rate sheets, dangling those ungodly fees before the crazed eyes of advertisers dying to sell their products between segments of hoped-for debates. Bob Shrum salivated over the prospect of a seven-week-long campaign for votes in Pennsylvania on last Sunday's "Meet the Press," calling it "incredible." Pseudo-conservative hacks like Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan spew calculated tirades against Obama as a wet-behind-the-ears upstart who'll be a deer in the headlights of Rovean pitbulls waiting in the wings of summer to chomp him like a canned meal, when in fact they quake in their boots at the prospect of contending with the tsunami of a movement they are no more empowered than Hillary Clinton to stop. Meanwhile, Andrea Mitchell, whose husband Alan Greenspan benefited hugely from the Clinton administration's appointment of him as Fed chairman, is scandalously assigned to cover the Clinton campaign and pass off biased portrayals of Hillary as "a fighter" (as she called her following the most recent Democratic debate) as the objective analysis of a seasoned reporter. Nonsense!
So let us stop wondering why the media speaks from both corners of their mouths at once. Let us stop mistaking ad salesmen for news anchors. Let us understand that when a company in the business of selling ads fronts itself as a "news organization," the last thing you can expect of it is "news." Let us understand that commercials interrupted by programming provide no venue through which we can honestly expect to receive unfiltered information on issues of any substance. The aim is hardly to inform us; the aim, as with any business, is to make money. The aim, more specifically, is to over-exaggerate Clinton wins to manufacture a momentum that perpetuates this race long enough for General Electric (which owns NBC) to squeeze every last dime it can yield. An anchor whose paychecks were formerly signed by Jack Welch is no anchor in my eyes--he's a fly stuck to the fruit of the fool's gold he peddles as "news", a phantom reality whose violin he strokes with duplicitous mastery every weekday evening. It's no wonder words like "blogosphere" have found their way into the dictionary--those who want real news have learned that they'll have to write it themselves.
The issue of VP choices for the Democratic nominee has been a point of conjecture on many liberal forums. We are now down to two candidates and Barack Obama is the odds-on favorite.
Once Edwards dropped out of the race, the consensus seemed to be that if Hillary won, she would virtually have to offer the VP slot to Obama, whether he chose to accept it or not. I contend now that their political fortunes have reversed, Obama is obligated to extend the same respectful gesture to a worthy adversary. There is no doubt they have made each other better general-election candidates.
Why do I suggest Obama is obligated to extend the VP offer to Mme. Clinton? Because, respectfully, she has earned it.
While not running the best campaign, no one can contest Senator Clinton's appeal to a large segment of Democratic voters who view her, rightfully or wrongly, as having the experience to perform as Commander-in-Chief. Obama has expressed that sentiment himself on multiple occasions.
No one can also contest her command of the issues. When her and Obama go wonk-for-wonk, she holds her own and, on more than one debate exchange, has won outright. There is simply not much daylight between their policy positions, another point both candidates readily acknowledge.
Mrs. Clinton is, in fact, already known around the world, mostly in a positive light among international leaders. Hillary also enjoys a good, bi-partisan reputation in the Senate and would no doubt be a valuable ally in advancing Obama's agenda which, by and large, is also her own.
Senator Clinton as VP heals the electorate from a DNC standpoint, because the choices of Michigan and FL would be reflected on the ticket. She is not just an also-ran, but a survivor; if she were to carry the race out to the end, Obama may win by a few hundred delegates, but her pledged-delegate totals would be nothing to sneeze at.
I submit the most important question a nominee must ask himself when looking at prospective VP choices is not who would most help them get elected -- but rather, who would be the best president in the event the nominee could not serve. To this end, all the above said, if Obama were not in the race, I could argue Ms. Clinton would have long ago been declared the nominee.
However, the conventional wisdom is that Senator Clinton wouldn't accept a VP offer. But that's hardly the point. My argument is that she deserves the offer and the party has to prepare itself for the eventuality of an Obama-Clinton ticket. Before we rush to embrace that conventional wisdom, let's pause to answer why WOULDN'T she accept?
By accepting, she would:
- Be the first female on a ticket favored to win - Mop the floor in any VP candidate debate with the other side - Bring her policy knowledge to bear directly in the Oval Office - Give Obama the worthy foil he suggested he wanted from a VP - Unify the party behind a "dream ticket" - Bring Bill Clinton's experience to the table by proxy - Engage the joint power of the party's premier candidates
Naturally, there is an issue with the negatives a Clinton brings to the ticket. However, given that the offer is warranted, and Clinton was fully-prepared to deal with those negatives should she have won the nomination, why would she not be prepared to deal with them if she were the VP nominee? In this respect, she does come essentially pre-vetted, allowing the ticket to hit the ground running. And the two have remained about as civil as two combatants can be ("I am honored to be here with Barack Obama") -- neither has scorched the earth and need to be applauded for running, essentially, very positive campaigns.
The truth is, that Obama's look to change the style of politics in this nation and eliminating personal attacks provides perfect cover for any personal shortcomings of Mrs. Clinton the Republicans tried to exploit. One can almost see Obama taking on the other side, quoting, "This is exactly the kind of slash-and-burn politics that our ticket is trying to move the nation away from." The "change" Obama is looking to promote provides immediate insulation against the typical slanderous crap likely to be lodged against her.
With respect to Mrs. Clinton's high negatives, they are muted to a degree with her on the undercard. Of course, there are people (some Republicans and Independents) that won't vote for a ticket that has her on it. However, as the nominee, this becomes Obama's job to convince those voters that a vote for this ticket is precisely a vote for the same type of change he has always stood for -- building that new coalition, which is something Hillary would have to accept -- instead of looking to advance the agenda by beating the other side to a bloody pulp.
Personally, I think this could work very well. Hillary would be excellent presiding over the Senate, and one could just see the gleam in her eye as she casts tie-breaking votes. Heading up wonky task-forces with Obama graciously giving her the credit for everything accomplished in those areas. Her and Obama's agendas are nearly identical...advancing his agenda is already advancing her own. And in the political instances where Obama needs that hatchet-person or attack-dog...could there be anyone better?
Of course there will be those that argue a choice such as Clinton is inconsistent with Obama's message of "Change". After all, choosing a running-mate who's entire platform is "let's return to the good old days" hardly seems to play well with Obama's forward-looking political mantra. I would challenge those critics to imagine MORE change, in 2008, than a favored presidential ticket with nary a white man in sight.
And lastly, yet another benefit would be her ability to run in 2016, well outside the shadow of Bill Clinton's legacy. At 68, she would not be too old and enjoy the favor of incumbency as well.
I dunno...I could argue to leave Bill in the doghouse, allow Hillary to run alongside Obama as her own politician with her own personal narrative (and not on Bill's coattails), let Obama serve the sizzle while she serves the steak, and grant the Democratic party license to simultaneously bring it's two most popular personalities to the 2008 campaign stage. Why choose between the Mercedes or Cadillac....when you can have both?
Republicans will unify against Senator Clinton if she is on the ticket. Heck, they would unify against Chelsea. Why? Because, in my estimation, the GOP is battling against the prospect of Bill making his way back into the White House which, after what they put him through, is proverbially pissing in their corn flakes. With Hillary as #2, Bill is not back in the Oval Office, which I believe mitigates some measure of the Republican indignation. In any event, this is the year that Democratic values trounce tired Republican ideas due of the electorate sizes. Obama brings a new generation of voters that hold no grudge against Hillary, but long for the hope in their politics he embodies.
I say record Democratic turnouts absolutely blast McCain and whoever his foxhole-buddy is (since they are effectively running as Bush's 3rd term), with an Obama-Clinton ticket winning by a landslide.
Being in South Carolina for the 7 days leading up to the Primary on Jan 29 was an amazing experience! I met volunteers from all over including, Texas, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, Illinois, and others from Florida. All of us were there to do what we could to help get Senator Obama elected. I also met some great locals and had a wonderful host, Mike, that let 9 of us invade his beautiful home and I stayed with him for the remaining week after the big group left. We were perfect strangers before and now I've added a new friend to my life.
I helped with door to door canvassing and phone banking to undecided voters to tell them about rally's where Barack or Michelle Obama would be speaking.
On Tuesday of that week, the phone I was using starting ringing back and people were asking me where their voting precincts were. As it ended up my phone line was part of the Voter Assistance HotLine being handled by a lawyer named John from Austin. He is a spitting image of Stephen King and he had instructed us all week that only a lawyer could answer those hotline calls.
He asked me if I had my computer with me and if I would be willing to take some calls. He had been working in the office for over 2 weeks to line up the lawyers that would be working in the field and in the boiler room on election day to handling any election fraud or irregularities that might come up. The 877 number had been on one phone and then suddenly it expanded to two lines and the later in the week would be 4 lines and on election day there would be 10.
He gave me the links to the Obama site and the South Carolina state voter registration site and said just to look up their voter registration and let him talk to them if they had any legal questions.
It was a bit chaotic and we managed and got into a rhythm. 90% of the callers wanted to know where to vote. The state made some ridiculous amount of precinct changes and didn't notify voters. So the campaign published the 877 number on every mailing, handout and tv commercial. Somewhere along the way, someone also said it was the truth squad number too. So anyone could call to tell us about anything. It became the main campaign line for the state.
And we got a fair amount of random calls about how the Senator needed to be tougher on the Clintons, how he needed to not stand down, we had lots of requests to pass along messages like we were his personal secretary. We had a few hateful calls. One really came unexpected for me and really shook me up. But we also had lots of supportive calls with people calling to say they just mailed their Absentee ballot for him or that they were supporting Obama and it was the first election they had voted in in 20 years. it was really inspiring.
On election day itself I ended up being the operations manager of sorts for the 10 attorneys that drove in from Washington, DC, etc.
In addition to voting location questions, people where calling to schedule rides to the polls or asking if they could just bring their ID with them or if they needed their voter reg cards.
The phones never really stopped ringing. All 10 lines for 12 hours. We estimate that we were answering about 500 calls an hour.
By the end of the day were were all exhausted and on caffeine and adrenaline highs. Then suddenly someone got a text at 7:01, one minute after the polls had closed that the AP was already calling the race for Obama! It was amazing. We really didn't have a feel for how anything was going all day.
We headed down to the Convention Center where he was going to be giving his speech. My legs where so tight and tired. I had not sat down for more than 5 minutes all day. But as Mike and I walked in to the convention center we both had a bounce in our step! We waited what seemed like an eternity for his speech to start. The crowd was pumped up and we'd yell different chants at different times. "Race doesn't matter". "Fired Up. Ready to go." "Yes We Can" CNN was broadcasting live and we'd erupt when the live shots came over the large screen.
We were only about 10 people deep but I quickly became surrounded by a wall of tall people and some of them not smelling too pretty. :) Definitely not the place to be if you are the least bit claustrophobic. Mike had a better angle than I did so I gave him my digital camera. It was such a commanding and inspiring speech! If you haven't watched it yet, please do!!! I found it on youtube when I was driving back to Florida the next day. I hooked it up to the speaker in the car and listed to it several times. Each time I started to cry. I wasn't able to completely take it in being their live for it. I was too exhausted and overwhelmed by the entire experience.
Without a doubt it was an amazing experience! I wish I could do more but I know we all do what we can!
As bobnbob will gladly tell you, I don't cry often; at least not in public. But, Maria Shriver made me cry today. She made me proud to be an American, proud to be a woman, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a grassroots organizer, and an Obama supporter. Maria made me cry with joy and hope for my daughters, for California; for America and even for Florida.
Yesterday, my youngest daughter was racially profiled at a Florida clothing store. We entered the store together, but my daughter's body language was a little sullen and distant because she was being punished for normal teenage rebellious behavior. The salesperson must not have known that we were together, but I noticed her following my African American daughter around the store. She tried to be subtle about it, but I could see what was happening. She was racially profiling her. My daughter wasn't profiled because she was a female, she was targeted because of her race. This beautiful intelligent girl, who had everything going against her at her birth, has blossomed into an intelligent, goal driven student. Even though she was born addicted to crack, she is a vivacious, intelligent teenager who has high aspirations even while overcoming disabilities that came with the circumstances of birth. She is a blessing in all her teenage glory and angst. Girlie Girl is a joy to us. She has something valuable to contribute to this world and yet, she was racially profiled yesterday.
I want more for my children. I want more for my daughters.
And I want more for my sons.
I support Barack Obama for many reasons. I support him for his amazing credentials. I support him for his intelligence. I support him because of his good judgement. I support him because of his amazing ability to bring people together. I support him because he has been able to engage our youth, including my own children, for the first time. My kids are finally engaged in politics; in their political future. I support Obama because he is infusing energy, youth and enthusiasm into the Democratic Party. I support Barack Obama because he makes us believe that...together..."Yes, we can heal this nation."
Maria reinforced my belief that "Yes, we can" change our country. We have the power to change it voice by voice, citizen by citizen, vote by vote.
And I will never get tired of this:
Now is the time to volunteer. Now is the time to vote...for Barack Obama.
Find the New York Post's endorsement of Barack Obama here. It isn't exactly the most flattering endorsement in the world, but that's pretty much the kind of thing you can expect from the NY Post--trust me, I used to live up there. Nonetheless, it's better than an endorsement for Clinton! Enjoy.
The New Tampa Democratic Club caucused tonight, and shook out this way: 13 votes for Barack Obama, nine for Hillary Clinton and eight for John Edwards.
Obama supporter Jeff Blake came from St. Petersburg to the club's meeting in Tampa Palms.
"He can bring this country back to being the beacon of hope, so that other countries can look up to us, and we are the country they aspire to be," Blake told the club.
When we left for Columbia, South Carolina last Friday at 5 am, I didn't expect to fall for South Carolina's voters but it hit me from behind.
In my mind I'm goin to Carolina Can't you see the sunshine Can't you just feel the moonshine Maybe just like a friend of mine It hit me from behind Yes I'm goin to Carolina in my mind
Dark and silent last night I think I might have heard the highway calling Geese in flight and dogs that bite Signs that might be omens say I going, going I'm goin to Carolina in my mind
With a holy host of others standing round me Still I'm on the dark side of the moon And it seems like it goes on like this forever You must forgive me If I'm up and gone to Carolina in my mind
- James Taylor
I was excited to finally be doing something concrete for Obama in an early primary state. But at the same time, I also felt torn about leaving Florida and all of the grassroots energy we had been putting into the Tampa Bay area, especially Monday's MLK parade in St. Petersburg.
Since the Florida primary debacle, the Tampa Bay O-Train volunteer group has refocused its attention on the national effort. With that in mind, we sent almost 40 volunteers to South Carolina. Some went for a long weekend and others volunteered for an entire week. We understand that this election is not about Florida anymore. It is now South Carolina's turn. South Carolina's voters are in a position to change the world.
Our particular O-Train caravan drove to Columbia, South Carolina with 9 volunteers in two cars with 2 more volunteers following a few hours later. We only made one food stop. When we stopped to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we didn't realize that it would be our last meal until after 9 pm that night. Good thing I packed some snacks in my O-Train mobile.
We arrived at the Midlands Regional Headquarters around 3pm. And they immediately put us to work. Now I must admit that phone banking is my least favorite thing to do, so I jumped at the chance to canvass. It didn't look like Jerel was enjoying phonebanking either, so I pulled him away from the phone to canvass with me. It was cold but we kept on knocking on doors until headquarters called us back in.
After a very late dinner, we went home to Mike's house. Mike had agreed to house a few volunteers from Tampa. Not only did Mike allow 9 of us to sleep at his place, but he also cooked breakfast for us. It was delicious!
We like Mike!
We reported for duty on Saturday morning at 10 am. Jerel and I were leaving headquarters to finish canvassing the neighborhood that we started the day before when a new volunteer, Mohan, walked in. Having traveled by plane and bus from Princeton University, Mohan was happy to join us. Fellow O-Trainer, Michele also helped us canvass this neighborhood.
Jerel, Mohan, an exhausted Edward and me:
Did I mention that Saturday was cold and rainy all day? Having lived in Pennsylvania most of my life, I knew that wearing plastic bags over my socks would be essential to my success and sure enough, the newspaper bags kept my socks dry. We knocked on doors all day. We only stopped to look for a Starbucks so we could have some hot chocolate and coffee. We couldn't find any Starbucks nearby so we ended up at a local McDonalds. We caused quite a scene at this McDonalds. First of all, Mary behind the counter, talked me into giving her my Obama button. Now I have given away a lot of Barack Obama buttons but this one was special. I had it since February 07 but there was something about Mary at McDonalds. After I gave it to her, she allowed me to video tape her.
We met a lot of Obama supporters at this McDonalds including Miss Cynthia. We were handing out tickets to the Sunday Obama Rally and Miss Cynthia handed us a pen as she invited us to come to her church the next morning. On the pen was a phone number for Shekinah Glory Family Care Ministries. I called and left a message that we wanted to attend their services on Sunday morning. Pastor Margaret Harper called me back Saturday night and gave me directions to their Sunday morning services. She told me that it was a small church that focuses its outreach ministry to single mothers and children.
After our McDonalds break, we knocked on doors in a new neighborhood. We were glad to hear that Obama had a lot of support in this neighborhood. Our favorite Obama supporter was Leon Robinson of Columbia, SC:
We were wet, cold and hungry but Leon got us fired up and ready to canvass some more. We finally joined other volunteers at Damon's for dinner Saturday evening. Jerel had discovered Damon's Friday night and it ended up being our favorite place to unwind. Chandra the bartender took good care of us:
The next morning, Jerel, Mohan and I were driving on the highway to attend church when the tire pressure warning symbol lit up on my dashboard. I admit that I am not very good at monitoring tire pressure but I believe that my brand new car was being a little extreme with its warning. I have only had this car for about 2 weeks so I wasn't sure exactly what the symbol meant. My co-pilot, Jerel, looked it up in the cliffnotes version of the manual. It had the whole color code scare-o-meter just like Homeland Security. Apparently, we were at the "immediately pull over and read owner's manual" alert stage. Knowing that the change in air temperature most likely caused a change in the air pressure in my tires, we stopped at the nearest gas station to add some air.
When Jerel, Mohan and I arrived at the strip mall where this small congregation would be worshipping, we didn't know what to expect. We didn't know how we strangers would be received. As we approached room where the church service was being held, we could hear it rocking with electric piano, drums, guitar, Congo drums and joyful voices. We were led to the second row and watched as a lesson about the Shield of Faith, the Sword of the Spirit, the Breastplate of Righteousness and the Helmet of Salvation was presented to the congregation. To briefly summarize; with prayer and faith, we can protect ourselves and our loved ones from those who would tempt us or do us harm.
They involved the children in the lesson by dressing them in toy armor and then quizzed them by giving away the toy armor set to the child who could name all four. They also had many of the children take turns reading Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Pastor Harper
Pastor Harper allowed Jerel to read a letter from Senator Barack Obama outloud to the congregation. Jerel also talked about how Obama was the target of negative and misleading attacks. I thanked them for allowing us to attend their church. I mentioned that although we could have gone to any church in Columbia, we believed that we were meant to meet Miss Cynthia at McDonalds and attend their Sunday worship service.
Jerel and I both had experienced this kind of environment before but Mohan is a Hindu-Indian from England. He kept turning to me and whispering in his British accent “This is amazing. This is brilliant!”
A few minutes later, Jerel, Mohan and I were called to come up front to be Obama’s surrogates for prayer. Pastor Harper said that God wanted them to pray for Obama’s protection. They were going to pray for Obama through us as his surrogates. Jim Reed led the prayer as Jerel, Mohan and I held hands in the front of the room. The entire congregation surrounded us (also holding hands) and prayed for our protection. Tears streamed down my face as I felt all the prayers and energy in the room directed toward Senator Obama and his volunteers. Mohan was right. It was brilliant! This small congregation had opened their arms wide to welcome us and then wrapped them around us to protect us and Obama. I don’t think that the 3 of us will ever forget this experience.
The time at this service flew by so quickly that we had not realized that it was already 2 pm and we were supposed to report at the convention center to volunteer for the Obama rally at 3 pm. Would we make it in time? To be continued...
