This is it!
We're coming down to the final stretch and Barack Obama needs your help now, more than ever before!
Please bring your cell phone, a charger and a few fun friends who care about change and join with thousands of your neighbors in the largest ever-attempted phone bank effort in New York state history. The Obama campaign is hosting several of these "mega call centers" all over New York, so invite your friends and family to make calls to voters in key battleground states and change America for years to come.
Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nylastcall to find a location near you.
http://ny.barackobama.com/NYlastcall
After the first debate, Moveon.org sent out an email requesting that Obama supporters write letters to editors arguing why OUR guy won. Having been a newspaper reporter years ago, I am well aware of what editors are looking for in such letters. Here's what I wrote:
"To the Editor:
I think the most revealing facet of last night's debate was that Senator Obama showed he has the cool head and steady hand this country needs in its President right now. He demonstrated that he has a plan for withdrawal from Iraq and the redistribution of our military resources in places like Afghanistan. He also spoke to the need for the United States to restore its reputation in the world community--a reputation that was once stellar but has been eroded by 8 years of divisive Bush policies.
By comparison, Senator McCain revealed a mindset that is stuck in the past. His lines like, "I looked into Putin's eyes...and saw...K-G-B..." are straight out of a Cold War playbook. In fact, I think McCain would have been a very good Cold War president, but the world is different now. It's much more complex, and there are very few black-and-white issues or players on the international stage.
I went into watching the debate looking for a reason to vote for McCain [NOT true; but I sent this to a paper in a highly Republican district], and sadly instead of the "maverick" and strong leader that I'd hoped for, I saw a feeble old man who is desperately out of touch with everyday Americans.
Thank you,
Chris Orcutt
Millbrook, NY"
Moveon.org makes the whole letter to the editor process very simple (it's MUCH easier than it was years ago, when you actually had to write a LETTER), and I encourage everyone to do it. These things are all about NUMBERS. The more of these pro-Obama letters that editors get, the greater the chances that some of them will be printed.
For several years, I've had a pen pal (via email of course) who lives in Idaho. Recently I sent out an "America Needs YOU!" email to all of my friends, asking them to support Obama.
My Idaho friend initially expressed reluctance. Well, tonight, I received the following reply from him:
"Through research and observation, I have come to the conclusion that John McCain intends to change nothing whatsoever. If McCain is elected, the Republican Good 'Ol Boy Agenda will continue in its juggernaut manner, too entrenched in its own ruts to go anywhere else but directly to the edge of the abyss. This voter says no thanks and will be voting for Obama. I am still not overly enthusiastic about him, but the one thing that I am sure of is that change is on the way and that can't be bad, especially when considering the past eight years."
Looks like we've got another passenger on the Obama train! ALL ABOARD!
Today was an up and down day on the political front, with McCain holding a press conference to call off Friday night's debate, and Obama (brilliantly) responding a couple hours later saying that now more than ever we need to hear from the candidates. Obama also added that whoever is elected President in 40-some-odd days will need to be able to handle more than one issue at a time. Oooh, snap!
If Obama's response were a chess move, it would be Queen's Gambit DECLINED.
Today's events have reinforced for me just how savvy Obama's team is. Every time the McCain camp tries one of these tricks, I have a mini-stroke worrying about how Obama's people will respond, and every time (especially in the past couple of weeks) I'm impressed with their decisions.
Keep it up, guys!
