David Williams' Blog

Letter to the editor

David Williams — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:33:09 EST

Any comments on this letter to the editor before I send it out tomorrow?

Dear Editor:

I am writing to urge voters to support Barack Obama for President of the United States. Normally a political cynic, I have slowly been won over as I have learned more and more about Senator Obama.

I am impressed with how he has worked to succeed in life. He was not born into wealth or a powerful family. It was through hard work and study that he became a professor of constitutional law and then United States Senator. There was no silver spoon, no political dynasty to anoint him. Barack Obama understands the American dream because he is a product of it.

This past shapes his politics. Obama’s books and speeches include messages about hard work, self-reliance, and personal sacrifice. These are messages that our culture of gratification needs to hear.

Since Obama’s success in Iowa, candidates from both parties have jumped on the “change” and “hope” bandwagon, and those are indeed powerful ideals. But any reader of Obama’s books will discover that behind the inspirational message is, if you will, a perspirational message. We will have to work hard to solve our problems. We will have to come together as a people to fix our immigration system, become energy-independent, and bridge the gaps in our society that leave so many Americans behind. I refer readers interested in the details of these plans to Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope.

Barack Obama can unite America to face these challenges because he has lived the struggles of everyday American life. Oddly enough, the “skinny kid with the funny name,” as he once referred to himself, is more like us than any other candidate in the race. We need this citizen, who embodies so many of the qualities we value, to be our next president.

Sincerely,

David L. Williams

Knoxville

Candidate mashup

David Williams — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:32:16 EDT

Yahoo is cosponsoring an interesting political forum. Obama is impressive as always and you have a chance to show your support in a poll. Check it out at

http://debates.news.yahoo.com/

Walk was great fun!

David Williams — Sun, 13 May 2007 18:56:53 EDT

The walk last Saturday was great fun and very encouraging. We got a lot of honks for Obama including one from a fire truck and one from the Red Bullmobile (which doubled back to give us free Red Bull!) The more people see folks like us who are willing to get out and DO something for Obama, the more momentum his campaign gains, both in the eyes of primary AND general election voters.

It was also just a downright pleasant time, discussing politics (of course), education, and exobiology in between honks. It was a great way to spend part of my Saturday.

All the support we got from the street makes me think there's a good chance we can put our country on a more reasonable course in 2008.

I STRONGLY encourage those of you who didn't make it this time to come the next time something like this is planned. You will have a blast, meet friendly people, and help send the message that a lot of people want to take this country back.