Last night, Jay-Z joined Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mary J. Blige, Kevin Lyles, and Beyoncé for a rally in Columbus, to Get Out The Vote. A crowd of over 6,000 people came to listen as these Hip Hop and R&B luminaries dropped some serious knowledge about what this election is about.
After Mary J. Blige spoke from the heart about how important she thinks it is for everyone to let their voices be heard, Diddy spoke about what this historic election means to him:
When I was in third grade they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I said 'a garbage man.' The truth was that I wanted to be the President, but I was embarassed to admit it because I knew no one would take me seriously. But after tomorrow, my sons won't need to feel embarrassed because they can truly be anything they want, after we elect Barack Obama!
When Jay-Z spoke, he talked about how it was important to him to get deeply involved:
It's not enough for me just to say 'Go vote.' It's too important.
On that note, last week Jay-Z performed a free concert (hosted by Lebron James) for Obama supporters at the Q Center in Cleveland. Here's a short video from that night. He certainly made clear his commitment to fighting for the change we need.
There is less than an hour left to make it to the polls. This is the last call for change. Find your polling place at voteforchange.com. If you've already voted, please volunteer to lend a hand.
Toward the end of October, the Obama campaign surpassed yet another remarkable milestone: the 10 millionth conversation. In Whitehall, Ohio, an active supporter named Johnny knocked on the door of a registered Republican (and Obama supporter) named Jason. It was just one of millions of conversations like it, but we thought it was worth taking note.
It's thanks to the dedication of countless volunteers like Johnny that Barack's message of change has spread so far and wide. This movement has always grown from the ground up, with ordinary Americans working together to do extraordinary things.
After you vote, you too can volunteer to help elect Barack Obama. There is no time to wait. There is one day until the polls close. Take action today.
Wednesday night's program, called "American Stories, American Solutions," introduced viewers to a few citizens of the country with uniquely American personal narratives, and uniquely American struggles. These are the people who make this country great, but also the people who need Barack the most. Eight years has been tough on them.
In Ohio, the campaign recently released a podcast, "Hope in the Heartland," that profiles characters and stories just like these... but straight from the Buckeye State. The first episode is about Jason, whose had his share of struggles too. The son a single mom, family tragedy, and poverty underscore just some of what he's been through. Listen to the podcast below on the page, or download it to listen on your own mp3 player.
For more information, visit the podcast's homepage at http://OH.BarackObama.com/HopePodcast
Download this episode to play it in your iTunes, or any other mp3 player, by clicking the button above, or by RIGHT CLICKING HERE and selecting "Save Link As".
We hope you enjoy, and if you do, please visit the podcast homepage to share it with your friends!
Don't be tricked! Be a treat!
This past Friday, Michelle Obama was here in Ohio. While she was here she took the time to record a special message to all Ohioans about the importance of voting early. Check out the video, then look up your early vote location below.
VOTE TODAY. Then sign up to help GET OUT THE VOTE.
Just an hour after Barack Obama finished making his Closing Argument to a crowd of nearly 5,000 people at the Canton Civic Center, the local Campaign for Change office a mile away was buzzing with volunteers. Many had heeded Barack Obama's advice when he spoke about the work to be done with one week left:
Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.
Jeff, an active volunteer wearing a red shirt with YES WE CAN written in big gold letters, talked about what this election means here in Canton.
This area's like Youngstown and a lot of places around here. You could say we're economically depressed... so people here are looking for change.
Jeff has been an active volunteer in Democratic campaigns since Bill Clinton first ran for President.
I volunteered for Clinton and Kerry. (Gore didn't have an office in Stark County.) I haven't seen this kind of excitement about an election since 1992.
Morgan, a local field organizer, had the honor of firing up the crowd today (along with a field organizer named Chris, out of Alliance). Unaccustomed to speaking in front of such a large crowd, she was a little nervous at the beginning.
I've never spoken in front of that many people, and I looked at that big empty room and it was enormous. But then some of my volunteers started to show up. And I saw some of my NTLs. And then local union members and organizers kept filling in and I got less and less nervous. I looked around the room and thought, 'I know most of these people... I've seen them volunteering in our offices, or canvassing.' And then I realized it was just like a really big house meeting. These people were already excited about Barack Obama, and I just needed to ask them to get more involved. And then it was fun.
Morgan has been working here since early August, and been inspired repeatedly seeing volunteers working alongside members of the Canton community who they might not otherwise ever have met.
I was canvassing and I met a young man named Kenny, who lives in Highland Park (a low income housing project), and tried to get him to register to vote. He was extremely resistant because he has been disenfranchised for so long. I talked to him for a half hour before he finally agreed to register just to get me to leave him alone. As he signed up, he said 'you just want to get your fifteen dollars.' And I said 'No, I don't get paid... I'm here because of you. I'm here because of Barack Obama.' I didn't expect to hear from Kenny, but then we had an early vote event and he was the very first person there! And after he voted, he went with us to round up his friends and he made them go vote, too. He's come into the office to canvass several times. He realizes he's being empowered and he's answered the call.
Barack Obama summed up the feeling here in the Canton office very well, as he closed his speech:
That’s what’s at stake. That’s what we’re fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then I promise you this – we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America. Now let's get to work.
Let's all get to work. There is one week left.
You can:
A few weeks back, more than fifty members of the Weinland Park community in Columbus came together to paint a mural about hope. This video depicts the painting of that mural, and offers some thoughts from Barack Obama about poverty, urban issues, and American culture.
The quote on the mural is from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and reads:
If you lose hope you lose the vitality that keeps life moving... you lose the courage to be... that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.
Click here to read Barack's Plan to Stimulate Urban Prosperity.
Tonight, Barack Obama will take on John McCain in the third and final Presidential Debate of the campaign. Tune in to watch at 9pm. He spent the last few days in the Toledo area preparing for tonight, and is fired up and ready to go.
Here are some pictures from Barack's debate preparation today.
Afterward-- or even during the debate-- feel free to use the comments section below to tell us what you think about it.
Barack Obama's American Jobs Tour has taken him to Dayton and Cincinnati already today, and the night will finish with a rally in Portsmouth. Near the Southern tip of Ohio, Portsmouth is a community looking for exactly the kind of change that Barack Obama and Joe Biden offer.
Watch Barack in Portsmouth, beginning shortly.
Tomorrow, Barack's tour will continue to Chillicothe and Columbus. Click the buttons on the right, to sign up to attend those events.
Did you attend an American Jobs Tour rally today? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
And if you haven't voted yet, what are you waiting for? Vote Early. Click here to find your Early Vote location.
UPDATE: This live stream has finished, but check back tonight between 7:30 and 8 to watch a live stream of Barack's rally in Portsmouth.
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Watch Barack, speaking live in Dayton.
Today and tomorrow, Barack is doing an American Jobs Tour through Southern and Central Ohio, with stops in Dayton, Cincinnati, Portsmouth, Chillicothe, and Columbus. Click one of the buttons at the right, to see Barack in person when he comes to a town near you.
Fresh from a resounding victory in last night's second Presidential Debate, Barack Obama will be coming back to the Buckeye State on Thursday and Friday to kick-off a two-day “American Jobs Tour” through Southern and Central Ohio.The bus trip will visit Dayton, Cincinnati and Portsmouth on Thursday and Chillicothe and Columbus on Friday. At each event, Barack will continue to highlight his plan to add new jobs to Ohio and the country and bring the change we need to Washington.
DAYTONFifth Third Field Home of the Dayton Dragons 220 North Patterson Blvd. Dayton, OH Thursday, October 9th Doors Open: 9:00 a.m. Program Begins: 11:20 a.m.To RSVP for Dayton, click HERE CINCINNATI Ault Park Pavilion 5090 Observatory Circle Cincinnati, OHThursday, October 9th Doors Open: 1:00 p.m. Program Begins: 3:00 p.m.To RSVP for Cincinnati, click HERE PORTSMOUTH Alumni Green Shawnee State University 940 Second Street Portsmouth, OH Thursday, October 9th Gates Open: 5:30 p.m. Program Begins: 7:30 p.m. To RSVP for Portsmouth, click HERE. CHILLICOTHE Ross County Courthouse 2 North Paint Street Chillicothe, OH Public entrance: Intersection of Paint Street and 2nd Street Friday, October 10th Doors Open: 8:00 a.m. Program Begins: 10:00 a.m.To RSVP for Chillicothe, click HERE. COLUMBUS Genoa Park 303 West Broad Street Columbus, OH Friday, October 10th Gates Open: 11:00 a.m.To RSVP for Columbus, click HERE.
DAYTON
Fifth Third Field Home of the Dayton Dragons 220 North Patterson Blvd. Dayton, OH
Thursday, October 9th Doors Open: 9:00 a.m. Program Begins: 11:20 a.m.
To RSVP for Dayton, click HERE
CINCINNATI
Ault Park Pavilion 5090 Observatory Circle Cincinnati, OH
Thursday, October 9th Doors Open: 1:00 p.m. Program Begins: 3:00 p.m.
To RSVP for Cincinnati, click HERE
PORTSMOUTH
Alumni Green Shawnee State University 940 Second Street Portsmouth, OH
Thursday, October 9th Gates Open: 5:30 p.m. Program Begins: 7:30 p.m.
To RSVP for Portsmouth, click HERE.
CHILLICOTHE
Ross County Courthouse 2 North Paint Street Chillicothe, OH
Public entrance: Intersection of Paint Street and 2nd Street
Friday, October 10th Doors Open: 8:00 a.m. Program Begins: 10:00 a.m.
To RSVP for Chillicothe, click HERE.
COLUMBUS
Genoa Park 303 West Broad Street Columbus, OH
Friday, October 10th Gates Open: 11:00 a.m.
To RSVP for Columbus, click HERE.
All of these events are free and open to the public. Tickets are not required; however, an RSVP is strongly encouraged.
Today is the last day to register to vote.
Saturday in Free Stamp Park on a crisp fall afternoon in downtown Cleveland, an enormous group of Obama supporters came out to celebrate and register to vote. We put together this video of Russell Simmons and Lebron James telling folks there how they felt about it.
There were a variety of other great speakers at the event, including former Cleveland Brown Pro-Bowler Willie McGinest, and Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, who said:
This is our time to make history... if you know somebody that's not voting, you've got to take them with you to the polls -- whether it's family, friends, or neighbors... You've heard of No Child Left Behind? Well, this is No Voter Left Behind!
The message was clear to all who attended: REGISTER BY MONDAY. Today is the last day to register. If you don't register, you cannot vote for change.
Register today. We can't afford to be silent. Not this time. This time it's too important.
This video speaks for itself. Or at least actress Kerry Washington, when she was visiting Dayton a few weeks back, spoke very plainly about what she thought we all should do. She was attending the Battle of the Greeks Step Dancing Competition, and her message was very well received.
She told everyone to register to vote.
Register to vote.
You cannot vote in this election if you don't register first. Today is the last day to register. Today you can register and Vote Early for Barack all in one stop. But after today, if you haven't registered you will have missed your chance to let your voice be heard in this historic election.
Don't wait. Kerry Washington is counting on you. And so is America.
This video was recorded in Michigan, but the message could just as easily be applied right here in Ohio.
Here's what Barack said:
If every single one of you go out and find one more person, or two more people to register... think about what that could do. That could be the difference maker...
Now take that idea and apply it to Ohio's incredibly easy, highly successful One-Stop Registering and Early Voting this year. What if when you went to register and vote you brought one more person, or two more people? What if you brought your whole family? Or some of your classmates? What if you took it upon yourself to make sure that everyone you work with got registered by October 6th, and voted while they were at it? What if you told everyone you know? Think about what that could do. That could be the difference-maker right here in Ohio. You could be the difference-maker.
Register today.
Vote today.
All in ONE STOP.
And spread the word...
Today is election day.
And so is tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that... And every day for the next 35 days.
What we're getting at is this: GO VOTE! You can vote right now. All across the Buckeye State, people are already out there voting for change, and you can too. This is the most important election in a generation, and it is up to all of us to get out there and let our voices be heard.
Not registered? Go to VOTEFORCHANGE.COM. You still have a week left. The deadline to register is October 6. But don't wait. The time for change is now.
Once you've voted, you can still do more. You can knock on doors, make phone calls, volunteer, or head on into your local Campaign for Change Field Office, roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Change is coming to Ohio, and to America. Go out to your polling place and demand it.
Did you vote today? Click here to tell us how it went.
Today in Weinland Park, the community came together to celebrate the unveiling of a great work. Over the last week or so, upwards of fifty people took part in painting a mural about hope, and under the clear blue sky of a beautiful fall afternoon it was a stunning spectacle.
Julius, a Weinland park native, spearheaded the mural project with partners Sam and Loring. They started the project Tuesday night. They cleaned the wall, sketched out the original design, and with the help of a diverse and ever-growing group of local community members they painted it. Julius said it felt pretty good.
It felt good to see everyone coming together on a positive note. This neighborhood is known for a lot of negativity, a lot of crime, violence, gangs, drugs, you name it... especially in the media... so it's good to see the original residents coming together to do something positive, to show the rest of the city that this neighborhood is not all bad.
Max Kennedy, who has been campaigning around the Buckeye State this week, came to honor the work the community has done. He spoke to a receptive crowd about the importance of the work they'd done and about the change we all need. And his interpretation of the mural was insightful:
When you look Barack Obama in the eye, and when you see this symbol of Senator Obama, he is a person who will not move. He stands for what he believes in.
Communities like Weinland Park are ready for change. And Barack Obama and Joe Biden's plan for Urban Prosperity is exactly the kind of change they need. You can read the full plan HERE.
But beyond the policies Barack Obama has in mind for Urban America, the work of creating this mural is exactly what this movement has always been about. Communities coming together, working side by side to make things better. Julius explains it well.
The importance of a mural like this is to give hope to the future generations, to the community, to the young people, to the downtrodden people. There's a lot of people in our society, and in this neighborhood, that don't feel like they're connected or part of mainstream America... So this is an opportunity to give people-- the common people-- a chance to feel like they're part of it. To revitalize the American spirit. To help them understand, "This is your country."
In less than 48 hours, the polls will open for Early Voting and you can vote for Barack Obama in Ohio. After twenty months of showing our support, and sharing our stories, and joining together to build this movement from the grassroots up, we will all finally have the chance to use our ballots to demand the change we need.
And 37 days from now when the polls close there will be no question that change has come to America.
But right now, there is still work to be done.
Right now, all over the Buckeye State, people just like you are out there knocking on doors, making phone calls and taking action to do everthing they can to insure we elect Barack Obama. You can too.
Follow these links to:
And you need to be registered to vote. Go to VOTEFORCHANGE.COM to register, to find out if you're registered, or to find out where you can VOTE EARLY.
It is up to all of us to make sure that we have done all we can to take us all the way to the White House. Make sure all your friends are registered, too. The last day to register is October 6. But don't wait.
Because if you're registered... you can vote starting in less than 48 hours.
Tonight at long last, the first Presidential Debate is here. And all across Ohio, from Akron to Chillicothe, from Barberton to Findlay, to Alliance, to Defiance, to Xenia, to Zanesville, supporters of Barack Obama and Joe Biden came out to watch the debate and make phone calls.
Here in Worthington, the Campaign for Change office was buzzing hours before the debate even began. Dozens of supporters came out early, to call their neighbors and spread the word about Barack Obama's plan for change.
We spoke with local supporter Richard, who has lived here for over twenty years. A Neighborhood Team Leader, Richard is no stranger to the North Columbus office. He's excited about what he's been seeing lately.
I've been volunteering like this since 2000. In 2004, there was an undercurrent of excitement. But now... it's flowing in people's blood. People are looking for change!
Richard was first politically active in the sixties, when he lived in Southern Ohio. He was part of the anti-war movement then, and feels a similar sense of urgency now. "I'm tired of the body bags," he said. Tonight, he is interested to hear the two candidates go into some foreign policy specifics...
I'm an engineer, so I like the details.
The community in Worthington is close-knit. Richard is a natural Neighborhood Team Leader, because the community in his neighborhood is already highly involved.
There are a group of 25 or 30 of us. Everybody knows everybody's business. Most of us are Democrats, but there are a few Republicans. Not too long ago, one of the people in our neighborhood put a McCain yard sign out in front of his house. It lasted about four days, and then he took it down. We talked to him and we convinced him... Now he wants an Obama yard sign.
Take a look at the pictures above, and you'll notice another Ohioan who is no stranger to Campaign for Change offices all over the state. About an hour before the debate started, Governor Ted Strickland stopped by to encourage everybody. After being introduced by a local volunteer who is also a member of the Ohio National Guard, Governor Strickland gave a great pep talk to all the hardworking volunteers. He was brief but full of passion, and fired up as could be about Barack Obama and the Campaign for Change. Moments after he left, everyone returned to making calls with a renewed vigor, and someone shouted excitedly:
Back to work!
Today, the Obama Biden campaign started airing a new ad. It's not like a lot of campaign ads. This ad is simply Barack Obama talking to the American people about what he will do as President to create jobs, put the middle class first, and get our economy back on track. You can read his plan HERE.
If the economy has affected you personally and you're looking for change, tell us about it in the comments section below.
