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Barbara's Blog
Reflections from a native Iowan now living in New York City on Obama, our hope for our future.
After today's speech by Hillary Clinton to her faithful supporters and the call to unite together in support of Barack Obama for President, I am grateful to be reminded that Hillary supporters and Barack supporters share a common purpose in the change we are seeking for our country, our world and our future. As a woman, I was equally grateful for her candidacy, as I know young girls in our country can actually believe that anything is possible because of her and now they are saying, "Yes, I can." This is the time for unity: Hillary and Obama supporters together. I invite and welcome any and all Hillary supporters who are joining the campaign for Obama for President to request me as a friend here. Let's work together toward the change we seek!
Heartfelt Oneness Purposeful Exhilaration
Congratulations to the Obama family on this historic moment in our nation's history! On a blog I regularly read called Electronic Village, author Wayne Hicks has compied a lst of what he calls former Team Clinton members who are supporting Barack Obama. Many of those on his list were closely associated with President Clinton's presidency. Most notably, Bill Richardson is the one that stands out due to his role in President Clinton's cabinet and because he has gotten the most media attention. You can read his post here. Today is International Women's Day. In honor of that day, I am highlighting a young woman, Casey Knowles, who is a 17 year old Barack Obama supporter and who was a precinct captain in the Washington caucuses. Some of you might "recognize" her as the young child in a recent Hilary Clinton ad about a crisis at 3 a.m. It turns out that the Clinton campaign used old footage from when Casey was used as an extra as a child, not knowing who she is now as a young adult!
Regardless of your political persuasion, it is refreshing to see young women like Casey, getting involved in their communities and in the voting process. Casey is representative of the inspired youth who are taking a stand by getting involved in a cause they feel passionate about. And you have to admit, it is a bit funny. :) Girl in Hilary's 3 am Ad Supports Obama This new video, edited by Akin Sawadu, is making its way around the internet. I'm doing my part to pass it along by posting it on my regular blog and here. It's called UNITED US and its message is one that Obama supporters understand: a message of united cooperation, like the branches of a tree, working together to make new leaves of change for a more beautiful world. If you haven't seen it yet, you can see it here: UNITED USFor those who know Spanish and/or who can appreciate the diversity of this campaign! Featuring: Mariachi Aguilas de Mexico I have been participating in phone banking as a volunteer here, both locally and nationally and find it a particular easy thing to do, convenient because you can do it from your own home and a good use of my free cell phone minutes. Although tonight I had limited time, I found that I could make 20 phone calls to voters in Louisiana. I would encourage every supporter to consider signing up, if you haven't done so already. With Super Tuesday now behind me and my New York primary over, I find I can still be involved, excited and inspired in this campaign by making a significant contribution talking to voters all over the country on the phone. This website makes it easy for anyone to participate. The scripts are there as a guide, in case you are shy about what to say. There are conference calls you can listen to in order to prepare yourself, too. If a voter is undecided or indicates that they have a question about Barack, I find that for me, it is easier if I speak from my heart. I use the scripts as a guide, but usually pick one or two issues that I know are reasons I support Barack Obama for President and present them with all the passion and spirit when the opportunity arises. Not all voters want to know why I support Obama and not all voters want to talk to a complete stranger. But when they do, it is so exciting! Tonight's calls got me so excited as I had one woman saying she supports Barack Obama "100 times 10%" and another one who proclaimed that everyone in her household was going to vote for him on Saturday. After a minute or two, I realized that the website is a bit particular about how you enter the address and all I had to do was write "W' instead of "West" to get my results. So I called the man back. He was extremely grateful: perhaps a bit too much as he then asked me if I was married and if we could continue talking by phone later on! I have to say that it made me smile, but I politely declined and no harm was done. Regardless of his motives, I truly believe that this man did appreciate my willingness to call him back and it's this kind of kindness that will be remembered in this campaign. So, I urge all supporters to take at least an hour of your time and sign up for phone banking. Encourage your friends and family to join in, too. You will feel good and know that you ARE making a difference.
Most people would probably agree that any President of the United States needs skills in foreign diplomacy. The urgency of this necessity today cannot be overstated. Our relations with the world have been damaged by the current administration. We can no longer take the “bully” approach that the present administration has often exerted when it didn’t get its way. This is precisely one of the reasons that we have lost respect in the eyes of many from other countries. The “bully” approach doesn’t work: it alienates us from nations that once were our allies, creates new enemies, strengthens existing anti-American sentiments and creates fear and intimidation which can lend itself to more conflicts, including war. We clearly need a leader with the strength to negotiate, lead, inspire and work effectively with the diversity of today’s governments and their leaders. We need a leader who can bring back respect to our country, while pursuing the resolution of conflicts, and promoting peace through cooperative and collaborative efforts. We need a leader who can communicate effectively with cultures different from our own. I believe that the best leader for our country is Barack Obama.
I’ve heard some people claim that Barack Obama’s has less foreign policy experience than his opponents. I strongly disagree with this sentiment. In my opinion, Barack Obama is the only candidate with the experience that counts when it’s needed the most: in times of disagreements, conflicts and misunderstandings. So what are the characteristics and qualities that Barack Obama has to lead us in foreign affairs? First of all, he has a willingness to sit down and listen with those who are on opposing sides. This is a giant first step in opening a door that has been too often closed by the current administration. He will not try to “bully” the parties into accepting the notion of “our way or the highway” notion of politics. This will help restore respect for our country by starting a dialogue, which is a necessary first step. Secondly, he has the experience in effectively bringing together diverse points of view for a common cause, His leadership as one of the sponsors of a bipartisan bill in the Illinois State Senate on the Gift Ban Act (a major ethics bill) is no small accomplishment! In addition, his campaign clearly shows that he is able to deliver a message of hope for people from diverse walks of life: young and old, rich and poor, across all the major political parties, racial and ethnic lines, urban and rural, and the working class and the elite. Third, he has the cultural competencies needed to diplomatically lead our country and the world. As an international educator for over 25 years, I know that a significant experience living, studying or working abroad can open our minds and hearts to others so very different than ourselves. It can introduce us to new views, behaviors and attitudes while developing skills that can effectively communicate with these differences. Strong, significant experiences abroad develop strong cultural competencies in a person that allows one to communicate effectively across cultures. This paves the way for diplomatic leadership. The same can be true for people growing up in bicultural and biracial families. Barack Obama has all of these life experiences. It is precisely the area of significant cross-cultural experience where I believe that Barack Obama stands out from the other Presidential candidates. Barack’s foreign experiences and with diverse cultures here in the U.S. was gained as he was growing up and over significant periods of time. This is different than someone who has visited a lot of foreign countries, perhaps in the political or touristic context. While exposure to other countries and cultures can be instrumental in helping us to truly see another person’s point of view, the context and the length of time in a foreign country help determine one’s ability to learn the skills to effectively deal with the situations that arise due to differences. Living in a foreign country exposes a person to the everyday life of that place, even if one lives in homes with other Americans or with other foreigners. It forces us to be exposed to other points of views and to learn valuable cross-cultural skills that can improve our perceptions about what is really happening, improve communication and overall understanding. Barack’s experience in this area truly shines above all the rest. His father was from Kenya, married to a white woman from Kansas. Barack grew up in Hawaii, and spent several years in Indonesia. While there, he attended school, where significant social skills are developed. In addition, he is bicultural, biracial and his stepfather was Indonesian as well. All of these life experiences truly make him stand out from the usual political candidates we are used to seeing and are one of the main reasons I believe he is the best candidate for the U.S. Presidency. He has demonstrated skills in cross-cultural competencies, which give me hope for real change. Finally, Barack Obama supports causes that are in sound agreement with international diplomacy and understanding. He was against the war in Iraq from the beginning, at a time when it was not so politically popular to do so. Currently, he is one of several co-sponsors of the bipartisan Senator Paul Simon Bill Foundation (S. 991) in the Senate. The bill seeks to establish a foundation in the late Senator Simon’s name to promote study abroad programs for U.S. students. As an international educator, it is well known in the field the importance that both bringing foreign students and scholars to the U.S. and sending U.S. students abroad play in our U.S. foreign policy. Many of the foreign students and scholars develop positive images of the U.S. and go home to be leaders in their fields, if not their countries. U.S. students learn valuable cross-cultural skills and knowledge from their study abroad experiences which make them valuable and competitive leaders. We need more international educational exchange for the future of our planet, and the younger, the better. As one of the co-sponsors of this bill, Barack understands the importance that international educational exchange plays in our planet’s future. I am proud to see his name attached to that bill, and know deep in my heart that he truly understands the importance of international education as part of a sound, foreign affairs policy. We need more leaders like Barack Obama: leaders who can lead diplomatically, intelligently and respectfully in all kinds of conditions. Won’t you join me in supporting him on February 5th? Today I discovered a few videos on YouTube about the truth about Obama's beliefs and record on pro-choice issues. They were done in response to misinformation put out by Clinton. I found them through the Women for Obama groups. Since there are so many bloggers out here and I know no one person can read them all, I decided to post links to 2 of the videos here. One is from Lorna Brett Howard, a former President of NOW in Chicago who recently switched her support from Clinton to Obama and the other is from Angela Padilla, a latina attorney/activist in San Francisco. Please pass them on to all people you know who are pro-choice (especially those who are undecided!). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dePG7C0Rrlk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RhL7jTy-cM
I was disappointed to see that Hillary Clinton "won" the New Hampshire primary but also excited to learn that both Clinton and Obama received 9 delegates each. That sounds like a tie to me! So in my effort to understand it all, I found CNN's website that gives us some insight into the delegate selection process. Check it out at CNN's website: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/
I am posting a recent entry from another blog I write as my first entry here on my.BarackObama.com. It explains how I came to make up my mind about Obama. Originally posted on December 21, 2007 at: http://spiritedstrider.blogspot.com Civic Responsibility I recently was talking politics with a group of colleagues and friends. Having just returned from Iowa (my home state for those that haven't yet figured that out from my writings), I am always "pumped up" with politics on my mind since everywhere you turn now in Iowa the focus is on the upcoming Iowa Caucus on January 3.
Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.
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