On November 4, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama issued a challenge to every citizen of the United States. In a world of hope, his message will be answered by those beyond the barrier of borders or the positions of the past.
Barack Obama said,
"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other."
Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on November 27. I invite every one of you to find a reason to give thanks and share it with another person. I encourage you to reach out to others in your family and community so that no one will be lost or alone for at least this one day. Individual acts of caring and kindness do not require government programs, formal organizations, or economic stimuli.
I challenge you to act NOW!
p.s. pass this message along, thanks.
On Wednesday, September 24th, GO-IDAHO hosted a meet ‘n’ greet mixer for students and young adults, and we had a great time. Due to the excellent hospitality afforded to us by the owners of the Melting Pot, we took over the patio for a warm, fall evening full of wine, cheese fondue, and politicking! We always know an event like that is a success when people are walking in off the street just because they saw our signs and wanted to become a part of the movement.
Some local supporters voiced their diverse opinions on why it matters so much to them that we elect Barack Obama:
- “As a student, it’s very important to me that we have a president who understands how hard it is to pay for college these days. I think more than any other candidate in my lifetime, Barack Obama knows what it’s like to be fresh out of college looking at a painful student loan debt.” – Justine, Student at Boise State University
- “The thing that drew me the most to Obama is his stance on immigration. When I listen to him, I can tell that he has lived outside the country and understands how hard it can be for families to be torn apart by a broken system.” – Chryssa, Advertising Professional
- “I support Barack Obama because we all need a breath of fresh air!” – Jenny, Student at Boise State University
- “I support Barack Obama because no candidate in my voting life has ever made me think he or she is really for the American people until now. He doesn’t take money from corporate fat cats who want to own his administration. He really will lead this country in a direction that favors its citizens - and he actually will do it, and he will CHANGE this country.” Lisa, Community Organizer
- “The reason I support Barack Obama is because he's inspirational at a time when people need a leader, not someone to fix their problems, but someone to inspire them to work harder, do more, use less, and come together to make a greater America.” Ahmad, IT Specialist
Sound like fun? We’d love to see you plan some other events in your own area of Idaho. Planning and hosting an event is easier than you’d think! Through the use of various new media tools (including my.barackobama.com, facebook, and myspace), we spread the word effectively and had a strong group of supporters. These supporters met other, like-minded young people and learned of some great upcoming canvasses and other campaign events in which they could get involved. If you’d like to get involved with GO-IDAHO, or would just like information on how to start your own group, you can find us through any of the following means:
1. Check my.barackobama.com to find, post, and host local events to support Obama;
2. Check our grassroots site, which has been active for longer than most of our volunteers and continues to keep timely updates: www.idahoforobama.org;
3. Join the GO-IDAHO myspace page at www.myspace.com/idahogo; and
4. Find our facebook page by searching Groups for “Generation Obama Idaho.”
GO-IDAHO's Mission Statement: As the next generation of civic, political, and social leaders in Idaho, we between the ages of 18 and 35 have the unique responsibility of framing the future of our remarkable state. The mission of the Idaho chapter of Generation Obama (GO-IDAHO) is to harness the enthusiasm and awareness that Barack Obama has brought to the young people of Idaho, and to translate that passion into active engagement of our peers, service to our community, and new voter turnout in November. Although we are often dismissed by our predecessors as being uninvolved, apathetic, and inexperienced idealists, the truth is that we wield an awe-inspiring power to effect real change throughout Idaho. GO-IDAHO intends to impact the 2008 election with a youth and new voter turnout that has not been seen before during our lifetimes, and to do so by demonstrating that our generation will no longer acquiesce to the negative politics of the past several decades. We will work positively and with all of the vigor and energy of our youth to ensure that Barack Obama is elected the next President of the United States of America.
We are less than two months from the day that our country will decide who will be the next president of these United States. I doubt that I am preaching to anyone but the choir here, but I feel it necessary to reiterate the importance of this election. The position of the Obama campaign from the very beginning (I've been with the movement for over a year now) has been to stay "above the fray" of the negative campaigning of the past. Doing so has often been very hard, as we've made our way through a very trying primary cycle into an even nastier general race. And when you consider how the past eight years have brought out the worst in our country, the challenge of remaining positive becomes even harder to master.
But what we have to remember is that all of that cynicism, negativity, and partisan bickering CAN be defeated in 2008. We, as the youngest people to go to the polls this year and as the future leaders of the state of Idaho and the United States of America, have a duty to each other, to our own kids, to our brothers and sisters, and to our elders, to make the statement that we demand CHANGE in the way politics and government are run in this country.
Many of you may be curious as to who I am, as the director of our GO-IDAHO group. As I said above, I have now been involved with the Obama campaign for a little over a year. I was initially approached by some old friends back in D.C. who asked if I'd head up an Idaho chapter of a group called Young Lawyers for Obama. After some careful thought and some heavy research into the candidate, I found myself being called by that same idea that Barack frequently attributes to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "The fierce urgency of now." I accepted the invitation, and soon integrated my efforts into the overall grassroots movement to elect Sen. Obama.
I remained an active volunteer throughout the primary season, and proudly shared some truly awe-inspiring moments on the journey. When we got news that Barack Obama would ACTUALLY be visiting Boise, the excitement was almost uncontrollable. Because of my consistent volunteer efforts, I had the distinct honor of being selected to drive in the motorcade that brought Obama and his staff from the airport to the Grove Hotel the night before his speech. While I did not drive the Senator, I did have three of his top advisors. I remember driving down Broadway (we took an interesting route) and being asked by one of the three gentlemen how many people I expected to show up. Having grown up in eastern Idaho and, therefore, having a healthy skepticism about the willingness of Democrats to show their faces in public, I answered, "I think we'll have a good four or five thousand." Without needing to go into much more detail, I'll only say that I shared in the profound disbelief when over 14,000 showed up the next morning. All I can remember thinking is, "We've done something here... we have changed Idaho politics forever."
Just a few days later we made history with (1) record attendance (2) at a caucus in every county in Idaho for the first time in history, (3) resulting in a larger percentage win for Barack Obama here than in any other state. Needless to say, this has been a very exciting time to be involved in politics in Idaho and to be involved in the Idaho Democratic Party. (Kudos must go to Kassie Cerami, TJ Thomson, Katie Whittier, Shelly Landry, Randy Johnson, and all other Idahoans that made caucuses appear in every county.)
When the general election began to heat up again, I knew that I had to reprise my role in the campaign, because I believe too strongly in the opportunity placed before us. I believe too strongly in the need for CHANGE in the direction of our country on so many fronts - from the economy, to our place in the international arena, to the irresponsible use of our brave men and women in the armed forces, to the future of energy production and use, to the risks confronting our beautiful environment in the next several years... need I continue? So when we all started to get underway, the campaign staff asked me to expand the Young Lawyers group to become a chapter of the GO movement. Again, after careful consideration about various factors in my own life, I accepted the challenge.
What a lot of people don't know, however, is that this isn't my job. I do what I can during my lunch hours, my evenings, and my weekends. I still have a 40+ hour/week job as a practicing attorney at a firm in downtown Boise. For something this important, it isn't about having time; it is about MAKING time.
And the success of our campaign is entirely dependent upon volunteer contributions of time, energy, and ideas. Not that this message isn't long enough already, I want to share two brief stories. Just the other day, we were doing voter registration drives at the Saturday Market and at Art in the Park in Boise. During the morning Market session, I had a new volunteer show up, Anna, who had been convinced to come along by another volunteer, Kelsey. Doing what we do can be intimidating, so I let the two of them pair up to add a bit of comfort for Anna in the new experience. By the end of the drive, Anna was completely into it and loving it. It's things like Anna's smile after two and a half hours of voter registration that reassure me we're doing the right thing here.
Just a couple of hours later, we'd moved our drive to the outskirts of the Art in the Park festival, and we were seeing some more great success. After about an hour or two, I had a gentleman come up to me because he'd been told by some other volunteers that I was the one in charge. He introduced himself as Jim and asked what he could do to help out. I interpreted that as a general question about volunteering overall, and began to give him my standard answer about coming into the office, joining our myspace pages, etc. Recognizing that I'd misunderstood his question, Jim cut me off saying, "No no no... I mean NOW. How can I help you right now?" Shocked, and inspired, I handed him a clipboard with voter registration cards and he went to work. Jim stayed that day for over two hours, having just happened to have been passing us on the street.
I tell these stories to emphasize that volunteering for this campaign is not something you should be afraid of doing; everyone... EVERYONE... has skills that we can utilize, but we need you to step up. We can't find the volunteer power on our own to turn this state and country around, but together WE CAN.
So I've asked before, but I want to encourage you to reach out to me to let me know how you think you can help in your community. Since this isn't a real job for me, I am somewhat bound to the Boise area. I can't travel around the state organizing younger volunteers because I like my paycheck! But if you're in Pocatello, or Moscow, or Idaho Falls, or Twin Falls, or Couer D'Alene, or Salmon, or McCall, or Lewiston, or Rigby, or Challis, or Rexburg... OR ANYWHERE and you think you can host some events (debate watching parties, etc.), organize some voter registration drives (at your local tailgate party for example), or just get a few volunteers to dawn some Obama gear and head out to do some community service, please let me know! And if you don't know where to start, but want to be involved, I will always be here as your resource. We have some really good ideas, we just need people who are willing to step up to make them happen. (Oh, and we also have a lot of fun, even though I haven't made that a real emphasis of this call to action. I should still say it!)
I've now made this message a bit longer than perhaps originally intended, but I want you to recognize that we want, need, and deeply appreciate your involvement. To conclude, in case you haven't seen or really considered it, I'm including the GO-IDAHO Mission Statement:
As the next generation of civic, political, and social leaders in Idaho, we between the ages of 18 and 35 have the unique responsibility of framing the future of our remarkable state. The mission of the Idaho chapter of Generation Obama (GO-IDAHO) is to harness the enthusiasm and awareness that Barack Obama has brought to the young people of Idaho, and to translate that passion into active engagement of our peers, service to our community, and new voter turnout in November. Although we are often dismissed by our predecessors as being uninvolved, apathetic, and inexperienced idealists, the truth is that we wield an awe-inspiring power to effect real change throughout Idaho. GO-IDAHO intends to impact the 2008 election with a youth and new voter turnout that has not been seen before during our lifetimes, and to do so by demonstrating that our generation will no longer acquiesce to the negative politics of the past several decades. We will work positively and with all of the vigor and energy of our youth to ensure that Barack Obama is elected the next President of the United States of America.
Take care everyone, and I hope to hear from you very soon! In the meantime, I've got a few upcoming events I'll be posting in the next day or so.
Best,
Tom
I was 1000% behind Future POTUS Barak Obama since Day 1. However, after watching last nights speeches, and tonight's speech I have decided to turn in all my change and donate as much as I can to help the Obama/Biden ticket as much as I can. I am disgusted by the way that the Republican Campaign has attacked the character of the Democratic nominees. While Obama has made a strong and vocal committment to leave the family of Palin out of the campaign, they have done nothing but degrade the character of their opponents. I have never been a fan of bullies and while I have always said I will not make a political decision based on an opinion of someone's personal life, I don't believe I could ever vote for someone that degrades the people they are supposed to represent. This is one of the WORST characteristics of us as Americans and the fact that someone running for the most important job in the nation (if not the world) is stooping to these levels is embarrassing and I am thoroughly annoyed.
I am axiously awaiting a debate over the ISSUES of this campaign, and hopefully America will get one before November (Replublicans better hurry, that's not a ton of time to come up with ideas for the country).
I'm a single mom, a student and a full time employee, needless to say money is not easy come easy go in my house, but the future of this country is so worth whatever I can give. If you can give anything, give...
I have a test to take :) so I have to be going! Thanks for taking the time to read this!!!
Hi my name is Micheal Decoria I am a soldier, and I am also a small town guy. Right now I am a student at Boise State. and I am fired up about helping Barak Obama to the White house. Most people think of Idaho as a lost cause to the republican hoards. And I am here to tell you its closer than the so called experts think. Right now I am volunteering down at my County election HQ. It is so great. Just remember Senator Obama is going to need help in Washington, so get out there and support your democratic senators and congress persons. What good is there to elect the candidate of change and not give him the people who will help that change happen. I would like to hear from you so shoot me a friendship request.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Micheal
Ridiculing the McCain campaign for their performance this week is a bit akin to being set loose at a pinata, except with a big club and no blindfold. The McCain campaign is the political equivalent of low-hanging fruit.
That said, one thing that I have never criticized John McCain for is the use of his former POW status to promote his campaign. It's gripping, unusual stuff that works as a narrative bridge for Sen. McCain to connect with voters that often seem riveted by the tales. As far as I'm concerned, Sen. McCain has every right to exploit his former POW status for political gain. Frankly, I wouldn't expect anything else; it's good politics.
However, we are long past the time where the McCain narrative that he is "reluctant" to talk about his experiences should receive any coverage in the media. That train left the station a long, long time ago.
In fact, I'd be willing to bet that there isn't a single day on the campaign trail when Sen. McCain does not bring up his former POW status completely unprompted.
The problem isn't that he repeatedly invokes his experiences unprompted, but rather, that he does it in such a crass politically pandering way. And then when he gets called on it, he recoils into his cocoon of "reluctance". For example, when a reporter on the "Straight-Talk Express had the temerity to ask Sen. McCain how his experiences were relevant to his present job pursuits, McCain reacted thusly:
McCain became visibly angry when I asked him to explain how his Vietnam experience prepared him for the Presidency. "Please," he said, recoiling back in his seat in distaste at the very question. McCain then collected himself and apologized for his initial reaction. "I kind of reacted the way I did because I have a reluctance to talk about my experiences," he said, noting that he has huge admiration for the "heroes" who served with him in the POW camp and said the experience taught him to love the U.S. because he missed it so much. "I am always reluctant to talk about these things," McCain said.
McCain became visibly angry when I asked him to explain how his Vietnam experience prepared him for the Presidency.
"Please," he said, recoiling back in his seat in distaste at the very question.
McCain then collected himself and apologized for his initial reaction.
"I kind of reacted the way I did because I have a reluctance to talk about my experiences," he said, noting that he has huge admiration for the "heroes" who served with him in the POW camp and said the experience taught him to love the U.S. because he missed it so much.
"I am always reluctant to talk about these things," McCain said.
This is the typical McCain dodge; using his POW status as a shield. He invokes it, along with the flash of anger, whenever he doesn't care to answer a question. And he does it often.
I mention this because McCain had the flap over recounting his experiences incorrectly in an interview in Pittsburgh this week. Sen. McCain was simply asked what came to his mind when he thought of Pittsburgh and somehow turned that into a story about being a POW [but he's reluctant to talk about these things]. This is how the encounter was reported:
Asked Wednesday by KDKA-TV's Jon Delano what first comes to mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, Mr. McCain said, "The Steelers. I was a mediocre high school athlete and I loved and adored sports but the Steelers really made a huge impression on me, particularly in the early years." Sitting by his wife Cindy, the senator then told a story about his 51/2 years as a POW. "When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the pressures, the physical pressures that were on me, I named the starting lineup -- defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- as my squadron mates."
Asked Wednesday by KDKA-TV's Jon Delano what first comes to mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, Mr. McCain said, "The Steelers. I was a mediocre high school athlete and I loved and adored sports but the Steelers really made a huge impression on me, particularly in the early years."
Sitting by his wife Cindy, the senator then told a story about his 51/2 years as a POW.
"When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the pressures, the physical pressures that were on me, I named the starting lineup -- defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- as my squadron mates."
Of course, the story wasn't true. According to McCain's previous tellings, it was the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers [a story he has recounted on numerous occasions, including in his most recent book and HERE]. It was basically a crass pander to a political swing state audience. Much like Hillary and sniper fire, Sen. McCain simply changed the story to fit present circumstances. However, unlike Hillary, McCain seems to think of himself as the last honest man in politics and above this type of crass political pandering.
This is McCain using his former POW status as a sword; bringing up his experiences unprompted to fit a campaign narrative that he wishes to push.
But what makes this story especially maddening is not that McCain brings up the experiences unprompted; or even that he occasionally fudges the stories to fit present political circumstances [a charitable conclusion, I think]. No, it's that when he's called on it, he attempts to crassly use the same experience as a shield from criticism.
Hence, this inexplicable statement put out by the McCain campaign when called on the lie:
The senator's mixup with the Steelers "was an honest mistake," a campaign spokesman said yesterday. "If bloggers want to make fun of John McCain because he forgot which team he used under torture, that is their right."
WOW!
Where do you even begin with that statement and its sheer audacity. So, it's not John McCain's problem because "he forgot" the team he used [which is almost impossible]. Rather, it's the bloggers that "want to make fun" of Sen. McCain, which, I assume means, asking legitimate questions about his retelling of the story and how he could have mixed up the teams.
Notice also, that the statement throws in the phrase "under torture" in an attempt to demonize anyone that deigns to question Sen. McCain's recounting of his experiences.
And by the way, how pathetic and weak is it that the presumptive Republican Party nominee can only muster a 'the bloggers are picking on me' response?
Frankly, this use of John McCain's former POW status as both a sword and shield is borderline unconscionable. And, it's not that different from how President Bush and Karl Rove used patriotism as a bludgeon to keep the MSM at bay in the run-up to the Iraq War.
At long last, is there ANYONE in the MSM that will have the guts to call the McCain campaign on their rank political opportunism?
I certainly hope so; before it's too late.
VOTE. VOLUNTEER. DONATE.
Don't be bitter, Hillary, you prepared for this election as best you could with lots of experience. You were the right person at the right time but the country wants something different. If the opposition were not Barack, there would be someone else standing in your path to the Oval Office. If anyone is to blame for your failure to be nominated and elected, it is George W. Bush. If he had been a better president, the country would accept more politics as usual. Unfortunately for you and for the country, George W. Bush has discredited politics as usual, and the country is demanding change. As someone steeped in Washington with years of experience of the usual sort, you are unable to present yourself as representing change.
What should you do now? Drop out gracefully and work to elect Barack as our next president. The country really needs his leadership and will appreciate your efforts. Perhaps you will be asked to serve in his government at the cabinet level. If not, you can remain in the Senate to help pass the reforms needed to set right the wrongs of the Bush administration. If you choose to leave government, you and Bill, together or separately, can tell your story to audiences eager to hear your side of the story. Certainly the country will be more interested in your story than Bush's self-justifications.
[From Politico.com]
Rats don’t swim toward sinking ships, and pols don’t back no losers, and this is why Hillary Clinton is in such trouble.
In a relatively short amount of time, Clinton has gone from being the inevitable winner to being the underdog to being a dead woman walking.
She needs superdelegates to win the nomination, but what is her argument to superdelegates?
Can she promise them she will win a majority of the pledged delegates that voters have chosen in primaries and caucuses? No.
Can she promise them she can take the lead in the popular vote? No.
Can she promise them she can win a majority of the primary and caucus states? No.
But can she get the superdelegates to overturn the will of the voters, slap African-Americans and young voters in the face and shatter the party? Well, yeah, she can try for that Death Star option.
To read more, go to:
<http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10177.html>
