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Ferraro

By Will Smith - Mar 10th, 2008 at 6:52 pm EDT

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," she continued. "And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." - Geraldine Ferraro

This kind of rhetoric is dangerous to the Democratic Party and typical of what the Clinton Campaign has been selling sine the before the South Carolina primary. Ms. Ferraro will be speaking at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Armstrong Theatre of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center Theatre in Torrance, CA. If I lived in LA, I would be out there picketing the event.

This kind of language is ridiculous and imflamatory. Unfortunately this will get buried beneath all the Spitzer stuff. She is tryng to tap into the latent feelings in Reagan Democrats that blacks have been given an unfair advantage. The truth is if Barack Obama was white, he would be campaigning agaist John McCain right now.

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Grass Roots

By Will Smith - Feb 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm EST

Also listed in: UGA for Obama | Yale for Obama

    I have spent the last three days canvassing on behalf of Senator Barack Obama in the suburbs of northern Virginia and was ecstatic to see the results pour in last night. Obama’s big victories in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. only tell part of the story. I want to tell you about what is happening at the grass roots level for every victory has a back story and every call for change can only be answered with the hard work of citizens who look to themselves to bring about that change.

   Over one thousand people showed up at Barack’s Falls Church headquarters in the four days prior to the primaries and they were immediately put to work canvassing, phone banking, or simply filing papers and helping out around the office. I would like to share the story of the five people I canvassed with:

Tom- A third year law student at Georgetown, who had also traveled to South Carolina to help get out the vote for Obama. Tom has been so inspired by Barack’s message of hope that he has decided to forgo a high paying corporate law position for a job in Boston working on immigrant rights and issues.

Sonya- A 60ish mother of three who was once politically active but said she had not worked on a campaign in over two decades. We went out twice together in the brutal cold of Monday and I ran into her again on Tuesday morning as she was working to get out the vote.

Will- a librarian from Philadelphia who had driven down on Sunday and was sleeping on a friend’s couch. Will was heading on to Wisconsin to help bring that state home for Obama.

Julia- a sixteen-year old high school sophomore from Falls Church who felt so passionately about Obama that she was willing to tromp around in sub-freezing temperatures with a complete stranger to encourage people to vote even though she cannot yet have vote herself.

Berhanu- a naturalized Ethiopian who was greatly upset at what our foreign policy has done to his adopted country’s image around the world. He spoke of how his friends and family in Africa look on in complete befuddlement at the American people’s apathy towards the democratic process, since they can only dream of having a say in how their country is run and who is running it.

   I found them all to be intelligent, caring people who are truly engaged with the world around them. These are the people that are out there working for Barack Obama. The reason Senator Obama won and won big on Tuesday is because of these five and hundreds, if not thousands more like them, all across the Mid-Atlantic. His opponent for the Democratic nomination just does not inspire this level of commitment and dedication. Barack’s army was out in full force in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. and is getting fired up and ready to go in Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania.

   Now let me tell you a few quick stories of the people who we met as we beat our knuckles raw banging on doors these past few days. We talked to an eighty-year-old white woman who said she couldn’t wait for Tuesday so she could go with her daughter and vote for Barack Obama. I ran into a small corner grocery store in Arlington to talk to its owner, a middle-aged Latino man. He gave me a hard time at first, telling me he was voting for MoCain. After a little back and forth, he smiled and pointed out a sign in support of Barack. He offered to pass out pamphlets and talk up the Senator. We came across a man who said he and his partner fully supported Barack Obama and were willing to volunteer to help out the cause. We talked to an African-American woman who told us how tough things had been since 9/11 and how she was working her way through school, trying to support her eleven-year-old son. She said she looked to Obama to make things better for her son’s generation. Yesterday at around three I knocked on the door of a Marine who answered in full uniform who proclaimed proudly that he was about to head to the polling place to cast his ballot for Barack Obama as Commander-in-Chief.

   Senator Obama talks about bringing together black and white, Latino and Asian, gay and straight, old and young. I can tell you from being out on the streets this is exactly what is happening in the United States of America.

   I write this note to share my impressions about what is going on in this crucial election, but to also ask for your help. Senator Obama has had great success raising money from the donations of everyday Americans. He has already received donations from over 420,000 distinct donors in 2008 and his goal is to make that number 500,000 by the March 4th primaries. Doing so would send an unequivocal message to the super-delegates that Barack Obama is the choice of the people. Please help.

   While his army is mobilized and fighting on the ground, he needs money spread his message of hope and change. Please make a donation through my personal fundraising page. Every dollar counts, but more importantly, every donor represents a concerned and engaged citizen.

   Another way to help is to go to barackobama.com and sign up to make phone calls to voters in crucial upcoming states. Pass along this letter. Call your family and friends. Get involved.

   Thank you for taking the time to read this and please help elect the right person for the job of President of the United States.

YES WE CAN!
SI, SE PUEDE!

Will Smith

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