Organizing for America | South Bend for Barack Obama

South Bend for Barack Obama

A South Bend coalition dedicated to the election of Barack Obama.

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Please sign the petition below indicating your support for our President

By Jesse "Hussein" Cao - Mar 26th, 2009 at 10:10 am EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

President Obama was chosen to be the 2009 Commencement Speaker at the
University of Notre Dame's graduation ceremony. However, right-wing
groups have been trying to rally support against this selection. The
University has chosen to recognize the President's efforts to bring the
country together and promote issues such as economic recovery, reforming
health care, and environmental action (among others).

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-usnotre0325,0,5854736.stor
y

Please sign the petition below indicating your support for the President
and for the University of Notre Dame in their choice to promote the
greater good over single-issue political games.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/4ObamaatND

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Host a Debate Watch Party

By Indiana from Indianapolis, IN - Oct 11th, 2008 at 3:45 pm EDT

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The final presidential debate is this Wednesday, October 15th, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

It's the last chance for undecided voters to see Barack and John McCain side-by-side and determine who will bring the change this country needs.

You can make the most of this opportunity by bringing your friends, family, and fellow supporters together to watch.

Sign up to host a Debate Watch Party. We'll make sure you have everything you need to make the event a success.

If you've hosted an event before, you know how powerful they can be to help grow our movement. If you haven't, it's a terrific way to show your support, and we'll be with you every step of the way to help.

We're having a special conference call for Debate Watch Party hosts next week. We'll give you ideas for how to get your guests involved in the rest of the campaign.

In these final weeks, each of us needs to do whatever we can to keep growing our movement and encourage undecided voters to cast their vote for change.

Sign up to host a Debate Watch Party now:

http://my.barackobama.com/debate-watch-party

Thanks,

Jon

Jon Carson
National Field Director
Obama for America

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Barack Morning Buzz-10-10-08

By Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net - Oct 10th, 2008 at 8:44 am EDT

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Barack Morning Buzz-10-10-08
On Victory in November

(1) Obama Warns against Fear and Panic as Stocks Stumble
Agence France Presse-AFP
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5imRCDHiSz6dmIH12pUYYy9VYlGKg

(2) "Black Friday" as World Markets Plunge
Pan Pylas-Associated Press
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/banking/_a/bbdp/black-friday-as-world-markets-plunge/204447?icid=100214839x1211233290x1200691434

(3) Obama Keep Cool and Focuses on "Common Purpose"
JIll Lawrence-USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-10-08-leadership-obama_N.htm

(4) Obama Buys Half Hour of Network Primetime
James Hibberd and Paul J. Gough-Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSTRE4989SV20081010

(5) Obama Maintains 52% to 41% Lead on McCain
Gallup Poll
http://gallup.com/Home.aspx

(6) Obama Opens 5 Point Lead on McCain
John Whitesides-Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081010/pl_nm/us_usa_politics_poll_15

(7) Obama 52% Victory Forecast by Yale Professor's Economy Model
Matthew Benjamin-Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPnl.m5.6Sa8&refer=home

(8) Obama Takes Lead over McCain in Florida
William E. Gibson-South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/sfl-flapoll1010sboct10,0,3066732.story

(9) Obama Hits McCain on Mortgages
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100903304.html

(10) Pollster Says McCain Needs Hail Mary
Dave Wedge-Boston Herald
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/2008/view.bg?articleid=1124605&srvc=2008campaign&position=2

(11) McCain and Palin Appeal to the Ugly Side
San Francisco Chronicle-Editorial
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/09/EDVS13EDIF.DTL

(12) McCain Questions Obama's Honesty about Ayers
Associated Press
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX44Nx4X0-M&eurl=http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Barack+Obama&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=news_group&resnum=1&ctiurl=http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/AX44Nx4X0-M/default.jpg

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INDIANA RESIDENTS / STUDENTS - CALL TO ACTION

By Ken from Frederick, MD - Oct 2nd, 2008 at 8:16 am EDT

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**INDIANA RESIDENTS / STUDENTS**

The Obama Religious Affairs Office in Indiana is looking for help!

->If you are a person of faith and live or go to school in Indiana, please respond.

-> If someone you know is a person of faith and lives or goes to school in Indiana, please respond.

->If you have any contacts in the state of Indiana who support Barack Obama or support Barack’s positions on faith based issues, please respond.

The campaign office has asked me to assemble info on people who are willing to help.

Please, send me (ktraugot@nvrinc.com) the following info:

Name

E-mail address

Address (including city)

Phone #

Name of faith community (if applicable)

Name of school (if applicable)

Name of any other contacts or organizations that we should look into (including contact info, if available)

Any other info you feel may be helpful!

I will be sending the info to the campaign office at the end of the day Friday (10/3) so please respond by then!!Any help you can provide will be hugely beneficial to Barack’s campaign in Indiana!

YES WE CAN!!

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John McCain is out-of-touch with the economic realities Americans face

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Sep 27th, 2008 at 11:22 am EDT

Also listed in: 8 groups

I just submitted this as a letter to the editor of the Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN) and the South Bend Tribune (South Bend, IN)

     Republican presidential nominee John McCain is hopelessly out-of-touch with the economic realities Americans face. Despite the GOP’s claims of a “biased liberal media,” the media has been ignoring McCain’s flawed grasp of economics for too long.

     Senator McCain thinks that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong,” but for who? With the gas prices rising and a mortgage crisis taking people’s houses, just who is he talking about? The McCain campaign is offering more of the same economic policies we’ve seen from President Bush for the last eight years - he thinks Big Oil needs more tax breaks but middle-class families don’t.
     Barack Obama will put the middle class first. He will pass a middle class tax cut that gives 95 percent of working Americans a tax cut of up to $1,000, and he’ll give families an emergency energy rebate to help us cope with rising gas prices. He will offer students a $4,000 tax break to pay for college tuition in exchange for 100 hours of community service. And he will raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation.

     That’s change we really can believe in.

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Vice Presidential Candidate Not Ready

By Jill 4 Obama - Sep 25th, 2008 at 10:32 pm EDT

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Sarah Palin interview with Katie Couric:

http://www.barackoblogger.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-not-ready-for-prime-time.html

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Weekend of Action--Celebrate Labor Day Weekend with Us

By Merici Vinton ~North Carolina HQ - Aug 29th, 2008 at 8:17 pm EDT

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It’s time to get to work, North Carolina!

To cap off an incredible week, launch the general election and celebrate Labor Day—we need to come together to register new voters across North Carolina this weekend. The North Carolina Campaign for Change and Barack’s supporters are hitting the streets (road, path, beach) this weekend to bring new people into the process. Weekend of Action events will be taking place all over the state tomorrow and Sunday—with almost 100 events, there is bound to be one near you.

So, let’s roll up our sleeves and meet register new voters this holiday weekend. Find a Weekend of Action event near you. Or, if you are on vacation and would still like to do something to help Barack, write a letter to the editor and tell others why you are supporting Barack.

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Whatever

By Paul Romero - Aug 27th, 2008 at 2:35 pm EDT

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Whatever!

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President Bush to redefine abortion

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Aug 13th, 2008 at 10:42 pm EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

The Bush administration has consistently opposed providing funding for international birth control programs, but until now has not tried to limit the use of contraceptives inside the United States.

That could change in the president's final months in office. Health and Human Services officials are considering a draft regulation that would classify most birth control pills, the Plan B emergency contraceptive and intrauterine devices as forms of abortion because they prevent the development of fertilized eggs into fetuses.

The rule, which does not require congressional approval, would allow health care workers who object to abortion on moral or religious grounds to refuse to counsel women on their birth control options or supply contraceptives. It would forbid more than half a million health agencies nationwide that receive federal funds from requiring employees to provide such services. Pharmacists could use the rule as a justification for refusing to fill birth control prescriptions, and insurance companies could cite it as a basis for declining to cover the costs.

An existing regulation allows health care providers with objections to abortion to abstain from providing it to patients. By extending the definition of abortion to cover contraceptives, federal officials are attempting to create by administrative fiat what would fail by a wide margin in Congress.

In fact, the draft rule could void laws in 27 states that require insurance companies to provide birth control coverage for women requesting it. The rule also could counter laws in 14 states requiring that rape victims receive counseling and access to emergency, day-after contraceptives. It would also require federal agencies and states to provide funds for sham family planning clinics that provide women only abstinence counseling.

The enactment of such rules would have an immediate impact in Southeast Texas, where state health officials estimate more than half a million women are in need of affordable family planning services. Rochelle Tafolla, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas Inc., warns that enactment of the regulation would endanger women's health.

According to Tafolla, "In a time when more and more families are uninsured and feeling the financial strain of a bad economy, it's pretty incredible that the Bush administration is actually trying to put up roadblocks for women trying to access basic health care." Planned Parenthood strongly opposes the proposed rule "and will be fighting to preserve women's access to health care information."

Planned Parenthood is not alone in its opposition. The American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a bipartisan group of 112 members of Congress have weighed in against the draft regulation.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has signed a letter of protest written by a group of U.S. senators. (Republican candidate John McCain has not taken a position.)

Health and Human Services officials issued a statement claiming the regulation would not alter existing rules and is simply designed to protect health care workers from discrimination based on their views of certain medical procedures. That ignores the fact that defining some forms of contraception as abortion is a radical departure from the status quo.

As with a spate of administrative regulations undermining environmental enforcement that the administration has pushed as its time in office grows short, this one is a payoff to social conservatives who oppose abortion and contraception. Since polls show that an overwhelming percentage of the American people support birth control, such backdoor tactics are the only way such restrictions could be considered, let alone enacted.

Justifying these draft rules as an anti-discrimination measure would be laughable, if it weren't so undemocratic and dangerous to American women. If HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt is irresponsible enough to approve the regulation, Congress and the next president should make sure it is short-lived.

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Barack Obama's Experience

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Aug 9th, 2008 at 11:53 pm EDT

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Barack Obama's experienceToday at 11:52pmDoes Barack Obama have enough experience to be president?
Newt Gingrich, commenting on Obama's experience: "Well, Abraham Lincoln served two years in the U.S.House, and seemed to do all right." (Meet The Press 12/17)

Following George W. Bush, who only served six years as the Governor of Texas before his presidency and hasn't been that well-received, to put it lightly, the American people should make sure they vote for a qualified candidate. And in their never ending coverage of Obama, the American media loves to repeat the "experience question." Barack, a political unknown until his Democratic National Convention Speech in 2004, has been portrayed as "green", the implication being that if he's elected president, he would somehow not be ready to handle the task of the presidency, or at least not as well as his political opponents.

He has ten years experience in public office, more than the two other leading Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton (six-plus years as Senator from New York) and John Edwards (six years as Senator from North Carolina). Barack's first eight years spent in the Illinois senate before his two years (and counting) of service in the U.S. Senate, should not be forgotten. Far away from the Washington spotlight, he introduced, voted on and passed bills, debated with his colleagues—something that was missing in Washington, where everything is settled in the backroom—and arduously worked to satisfy his constituents. Most important of all, he learned that how to work across the aisle, and get stuff done.
"When you come in, especially as a freshman, and work on something like ethics reform, it's not necessarily a way to endear yourself to some of the veteran members of the Illinois General Assembly," said state Sen. Kirk W. Dillard, a Republican who became a friend. "And working on issues like racial profiling was contentious, but Barack had a way both intellectually and in demeanor that defused skeptics." Washington Post

Illinois State Senate

"In the Illinois State Senate, this meant working with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases."
"
United States Senate

He has continued this inclusive and productive style of work in the U.S. Senate: "In the U.S. Senate, he has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking and a politics that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator. His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars are spent. He has also been the lead voice in championing ethics reform that would root out Jack Abramoff-style corruption in Congress.

Foreign Policy

Obama's foreign policy experience includes graduating from Columbia University with a degree in political science with an emphasis on international relations. In the U.S. Senate Obama is unique among Senators in that he serves on three of the four Senate Committees dealing with foreign policy issues including the Foreign Relations; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Veterans' Affairs committees and is the Chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Relations which is responsible fore U.S. relations with European countries, the European Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (i.e., NATO). When comparing Obama's foreign policy experience with other candidates for President you have Democrat Joseph Biden who is Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Hillary Clinton who is a member of the Armed Services Committee and John McCain who is the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee yet there is no Senator except for Barack Obama who serves on three of the four committees that deal with foreign policy.

Foreign Relations Committee

Obama service on the Foreign Relations committee has placed him in an unique position in that he is the Chair of the Subcommittee on European Relations and serves on the Subcommittees on African Affairs; East Asia and Pacific Affairs; and International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection. This cross-section of subcommittees places Obama in a unique position of having knowledge about Asian, African and European issues. The only other member of the Foreign Relations committee who is running for President is Democrat Joseph Biden who is Chairman of the full Foreign Relations Committee yet unlike Obama he does not serve on any of the other foreign policy committees and his experience is limited to foreign policy issues covered by the Foreign Relations Committee.

Obama has also traveled extensively in his capacity as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and has visited Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan in Asia; Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, and the Palestinian Territories in the Middle East; and Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa in Africa. Obama has also co-sponsored the "Lugar-Obama Act" with Republican Senator Richard Lugar who was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations at the time. This act was a bi-partisan effort to increase U.S. security in terms of the elimination of conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction. This legislation came out of Obama's trip with Senator Richard Lugar to Russia, the Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

Obama has also sponsored legislation such as the "Democratic Republic of Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act" which was signed into law by President Bush on December 22, 2006. Obama has co-sponsored immigration related bills related to his service on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee including the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. His extensive foreign policy experience exceeds that of every other Presidential candidate including his trips abroad in the performance of his official duties as a member of committees dealing with foreign relation issues.

While some have criticized Obama's foreign travel claiming that he is the most traveled freshman Senator in doing so they often fail to mention that as a result of his extensive trips abroad is legislation such as the Lugar-Obama Act instead preferring to make the political connection between his travels abroad to his run for President yet others will recognize the experience he has gained as a result of his foreign trips and recognize that as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he is expected to travel extensively and that his travels often were with the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Among the three top freshman who have received attention along with Obama in terms of foreign travel you have Barack Obama who serves on three committees dealing with foreign policy, Republican Richard Burr who serves on the Select Committee on Intelligence and Republican Tom Coburn who serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and it must be noted that such travel was part of an official delegation and was approved and paid for by the Senate.

Veterans' Affairs Committee

As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing the terrorist threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, he traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world. And knowing the threat we face to our economy and our security from America's addiction to oil, he's working to bring auto companies, unions, farmers, businesses and politicians of both parties together to promote the greater use of alternative fuels and higher fuel standards in our cars."

Ethics
"Obama has made ethics reform a central part of his political career. Two years into his first term in the U.S. Senate, he has had limited opportunities to leave a mark at the federal level, especially as a member of the minority party. But he has worked with Republicans on new good-government laws. He co-sponsored one, signed in September, that will create a federal spending database so Web users can track all grants, loans and awards greater than $25,000. He also pushed to limit the Federal Emergency Management Agency's authority to award open-ended, no-bid contracts in the wake of major disasters — a reaction to post-Katrina abuses. More to the point, last year Senate Democrats tapped Obama as the chief negotiator for their caucus in talks over post-Abramoff ethics reforms, though those negotiations faltered. Ethics reform was one of Obama's signature issues in Springfield, as well. Beyond the Gift Ban Act, he helped push Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's 2003 ethics reforms. The gift ban law, the first broad ethics reform in Illinois since the Watergate era, prohibited politicians from using campaign funds for personal use, barred fundraising on state property, established ethics commissions, curtailed fundraisers in Springfield during legislative sessions and mandated online reporting of campaign finances. The 2003 ethics package created independent inspectors general with subpoena powers to look into abuses by legislators, statewide officeholders and their employees. It further clamped down on the types of gifts lawmakers can receive and prohibited lobbyists and their spouses from sitting on state boards and commissions. Obama also touted publicly financed judicial campaigns, an idea that was approved by the Illinois Senate but languished in the House."

Life Experience

This experience in public office is just a taste of what makes Obama ready for the presidency. He has had a goulash of a life. He was born to white a woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya in Hawaii, then moved to Indonesia for five years with his step-father from ages six to ten.

After returning to Hawaii for middle and high school, he went Occidental College, a liberal arts school in L.A. After a couple years at Occidental, he transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in International Relations.

After graduating, he went to work as a community organizer in Chicago. Following three years of helping some of Chicago's poorest residents recover from a steel mill closing through job training programs, he went to Harvard Law. There, he became the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review. Instead of seeking a high paying job upon graduating from Harvard, he returned to Chicago and went back to the neighborhood communities by organizing and helping to register 150,000 voters. He then began working at a civil rights firm and went on to teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago. He did all of this before his career in politics began.

His ability to understand and earn respect from political opponents while being a genuine progressive; his success in the classroom and on the street; and his unparalleled background have helped him become the intelligent, fair, and courageous leader he is today.
Before the war in Iraq in 2002, he exclaimed: "Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president."

For a short overview of his years in the Illinois State Legislature check out his wikipedia page or our building collection of transcripts from the Illinois State Senate.

Despite any charges of inexperience, Senator Obama clearly showed good judgment in assessing the Iraq situation in the fall of 2002.

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Barack Morning Buzz - 7-30-08

By Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net - Jul 30th, 2008 at 8:48 am EDT

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Barack Morning Buzz - 7-30-08
On to Victory in November

(1) Obama Meets with Key Women Leaders Focusing on Winning in November
Peter Nicholas and Mark Z. Barabak-Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-campaign30-2008jul30,0,2605442.story

(2) Campaigns Try to Get Timing Right on VP Choices
Michael Kranish-Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/07/30/campaigns_try_to_get_timing_right_on_vp_choices/

(3) Obama's Vice Presidential Dilemma
Michael Duffy-TIME
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1827714,00.html

(4) Obama and McCain Mum on Running Mates
Associated Press
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/30/america/NA-POL-US-Elections.php

(5) Obama Talks Energy with House Democrats
Amanda Erickson-Chicago Tribune-Washington Bureau
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama-gas30jul30,0,4119818.story

(6) Obama Talks Housing
Associated Minute Minute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKn_JAUeX1w

(7) Obama and McCain Have Already Spent over $50 Million on General Election TV Ads
David Chalian-ABC News-Political Radar
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/mccain-and-obam.html

(8) Obama Extends Reach with TV Ads
Martha T. Moore-USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-29-ads_N.htm

(9) Major TV Coverage for a Major Election
Tim Goodman-San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/07/30/DD2S121908.DTL

(10) For Obama, a Day of Monetary Meetings
Jonathan Weisman-Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/29/AR2008072902

(11) Candidates Duel over Economy
Chip Reid-CBS News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LtBOO021Vw

(12) McCain's Misleading Ads Assailing Obama Get Wider Free Exposure as News
Jim Rutenberg-International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/30/america/ad.php

(13) McCain's Low Road Express
New York Times-Editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/opinion/30wed1.html?ref=opinion

(14) Obama and McCain as Neo-NeoCons
Christian Science Monitor-Editorial Board
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080730/cm_csm/ealqaeda_1

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10 things you should know about John McCain

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Jul 27th, 2008 at 11:41 pm EDT

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10 things to know about

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, there are some important things you won't learn about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff—and you might be surprised by some of it.

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources:
1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html
"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/
2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us
"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/
3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/
4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/
5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action CouncilÂ® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007
"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/
6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80
"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home
7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022
"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/
8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/
"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/
"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/
10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

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Barack Morning Buzz - 7-18-08

By Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net - Jul 18th, 2008 at 8:44 am EDT

Also listed in: 9 groups

Barack Morning Buzz - 7-18-08
On to Victory in November

(1) Obama Takes Campaign Trail Overseas
CNNPolitics-Election Center 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/18/obama.trip/

(2) Obama-All the World's His Stage
Mark Tran-Guardian-UK
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/2008/07/obamas_excellent_adventure_1.html

(3) Obama to Meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Associated Press
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080718/ap_on_el_pr/germany_obama_visit_2

(4) Obama's War Zone Guides
Karen Tumulty-TIME
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1824090,00.html

(5) Obama Road Show-The Promise and Peril of the World Tour
John Dickerson-Slate
http://www.slate.com/id/2195525/

(6) Obama's Trip Causes Discord in McCain Camp
Elizabeth Holmes and Laura Meckler-Wall Street Journal-Washington Wire
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/17/obamas-trip-causes-discord-in-mccain-camp/

(7) Obama's Fundraising Roars to Life
Dan Morain-Los Angeles Times-National
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-campaign18-2008jul18,0,2276682.story

(8) Democratic National Committee Rides Obama Coattails
Boston Globe-The Money Race
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/07/18/dnc_rides_obama_coattails/

(9) Obama's Summer of Success
Scot Lehigh-Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/07/18/obamas_summer_of_success/

(10) Obama Backers are More Excited that McCain's
Alan Fram-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwM1qSbEKEEoo9SqCcagyb7M8pNgD9207TV80

(11) Civil Rights Old Guard Should Let Obama Lead
Reverend Jim Holley-Detroit Free Press
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/OPINION02/807180340/1070

(12) Obama and McCain Find Common Ground on Afghanistan
Associated Press
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjQEwdkqgDU

(13) Conservatives Claim Bias in Coverage of Obama Trip
Alex Koppelman-Salon-War Room
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2008/07/17/iraq_media/index.html

(14) Hearing Gate-McCain Has Worse Afghanistan Hearing Record than Obama
Z. Byron Wolf-ABC News-Political Radar
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/hearing-gate-ex.html

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Volunteers/ Grassroots Help needed

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Jul 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

Well, it's that time of year again and this year, I just became a Hoosier Team Coordinator for the Barack Obama campaign. Part of my responsibilities include finding a team of local people in the michiana area who are interested in doing some grassroots work (i.e. canvassing, making phone calls, registering voters, info tables, etc). If you have any free time and would love to help out and help get Barack Obama in the White House, send me a message ASAP.

We've got some big things/events planned in the near future.

go ahead and mark august 4th on your calendar.

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Economic Stimulus Plan

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Jul 17th, 2008 at 3:41 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

A raging war, sky-rocketing energy costs due to foreign oil, and a prime mortgage catastrophe. Any one of those are capable of bringing a country to it's knees, and we are experiencing all three at the same time. This is the second time in 6 years that our country is faced with a recession. Tax rebates only work as economic stimulus when bundled with spending cuts. All we are getting is greater deficit spending, which means the Federal reserve will print more money out of thin air, raising inflation. These tax rebates are just going to push the price of goods up and erode the purchasing power of the dollar. This is bad for everyone except the upper 10%.

Tax breaks? This will only destroy what is left of our tax base and leave a huge mess for the next President. Is it possible Bush is doing this on purpose? Of course. Leave a failing war, bad economy, incredible defecit and a divided nation for the next 8 years.

What a legacy

pulling our troops would save billions. :)

/politcal rant.

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STOP THE IRAN WAR

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Jul 17th, 2008 at 3:38 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

By all accounts, the news coming out lately about Iran is scary. Iran is testing more missiles, and the Bush administration is promising swift retribution for any attack on the US or our allies.

To top it off, John McCain keeps joking about killing the Iranian people—discussing rising U.S. exports of cigarettes to Iran, he joked, "Maybe that's a way of killing them." And we all remember McCain's infamous, "Bomb Iran" song. (See video below)1

War is not a joke. The truth is that the Bush-McCain policy of reckless saber-rattling and threatening doesn't work—it just makes things worse and increases tensions in the region. What we need is serious, tough, and smart diplomacy—not another war.

Right now, Congress is considering bills that could clear the way for escalation or war. But they can act to make sure President Bush and John McCain don't lead us into another reckless war. Can you sign this petition asking Congress to push for diplomacy and demand Congressional authorization before getting us into another war? Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/diplomacyiran/o.pl?id=13193-4577993-Bkodibx&t=3

The petition reads: "Saber-rattling and threats towards Iran without diplomacy is not working. Please support a new direction towards Iran and demand President Bush get Congressional authorization before getting us into another war."

For years, the Bush administration's policy has been the same—tough talk and no real diplomacy. So far, that hasn't helped curtail Iran's apparent nuclear ambitions or advanced American interests.

Unfortunately, John McCain's belligerent comments only make matters worse—at a moment when the Persian Gulf is on the brink of war because of leaders who dehumanize and demonize folks on the other side, John McCain is offering more of the same old approach.

As NPR reported this morning, "McCain believes that the Bush administration's approach has been the right one."2

What we need right now from this administration, and from our next president, is serious diplomacy. As Barack Obama said, "The United States has to gather up others in the region, as well as internationally, to apply pressure on Iran. But it's very difficult for us to do so when we haven't shown a willingness to engage in the sort of direct negotiations with Iran that would give them carrots and sticks for a change in behavior."3

We don't need more saber-rattling, belligerent rhetoric or jokes about killing Iranians.

Too many lives—American, Israeli, and Iranian—are at stake. Please click here to tell Congress to help avoid another war:

http://pol.moveon.org/diplomacyiran/o.pl?id=13193-4577993-Bkodibx&t=4

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I guess McCain was serious about another 100 years in Iraq

By Christopher Salyer--Hoosier Team Coordinator - Jul 17th, 2008 at 3:35 pm EDT

Also listed in: 4 groups

REVEALED: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control Shareby Troy Pasulka (notes) Friday, June 6, 2008 at 9:34pmhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/revealed-secret-plan-to-keep-iraq-under-us-control-840512.html

Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors

By Patrick Cockburn
Thursday, 5 June 2008

A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.

The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.

But the accord also threatens to provoke a political crisis in the US. President Bush wants to push it through by the end of next month so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated. But by perpetuating the US presence in Iraq, the long-term settlement would undercut pledges by the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to withdraw US troops if he is elected president in November.

The timing of the agreement would also boost the Republican candidate, John McCain, who has claimed the United States is on the verge of victory in Iraq – a victory that he says Mr Obama would throw away by a premature military withdrawal.

America currently has 151,000 troops in Iraq and, even after projected withdrawals next month, troop levels will stand at more than 142,000 – 10 000 more than when the military "surge" began in January 2007. Under the terms of the new treaty, the Americans would retain the long-term use of more than 50 bases in Iraq. American negotiators are also demanding immunity from Iraqi law for US troops and contractors, and a free hand to carry out arrests and conduct military activities in Iraq without consulting the Baghdad government.

The precise nature of the American demands has been kept secret until now. The leaks are certain to generate an angry backlash in Iraq. "It is a terrible breach of our sovereignty," said one Iraqi politician, adding that if the security deal was signed it would delegitimise the government in Baghdad which will be seen as an American pawn.

The US has repeatedly denied it wants permanent bases in Iraq but one Iraqi source said: "This is just a tactical subterfuge." Washington also wants control of Iraqi airspace below 29,000ft and the right to pursue its "war on terror" in Iraq, giving it the authority to arrest anybody it wants and to launch military campaigns without consultation.

Mr Bush is determined to force the Iraqi government to sign the so-called "strategic alliance" without modifications, by the end of next month. But it is already being condemned by the Iranians and many Arabs as a continuing American attempt to dominate the region. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the powerful and usually moderate Iranian leader, said yesterday that such a deal would create "a permanent occupation". He added: "The essence of this agreement is to turn the Iraqis into slaves of the Americans."

Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is believed to be personally opposed to the terms of the new pact but feels his coalition government cannot stay in power without US backing.

The deal also risks exacerbating the proxy war being fought between Iran and the United States over who should be more influential in Iraq.

Although Iraqi ministers have said they will reject any agreement limiting Iraqi sovereignty, political observers in Baghdad suspect they will sign in the end and simply want to establish their credentials as defenders of Iraqi independence by a show of defiance now. The one Iraqi with the authority to stop deal is the majority Shia spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In 2003, he forced the US to agree to a referendum on the new Iraqi constitution and the election of a parliament. But he is said to believe that loss of US support would drastically weaken the Iraqi Shia, who won a majority in parliament in elections in 2005.

The US is adamantly against the new security agreement being put to a referendum in Iraq, suspecting that it would be voted down. The influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on his followers to demonstrate every Friday against the impending agreement on the grounds that it compromises Iraqi independence.

The Iraqi government wants to delay the actual signing of the agreement but the office of Vice-President Dick Cheney has been trying to force it through. The US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, has spent weeks trying to secure the accord.

The signature of a security agreement, and a parallel deal providing a legal basis for keeping US troops in Iraq, is unlikely to be accepted by most Iraqis. But the Kurds, who make up a fifth of the population, will probably favour a continuing American presence, as will Sunni Arab political leaders who want US forces to dilute the power of the Shia. The Sunni Arab community, which has broadly supported a guerrilla war against US occupation, is likely to be split.

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Barack Afternoon Buzz - 7-13-08

By Barack Daily Buzz - Victory2008.net - Jul 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pm EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

Barack Afternoon Buzz - 7-13-08
On to Victory in November

(1) Obama Says There is "Little Doubt We've Moved into a Recession"
Glen Johnson-Associated Press
http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/obama-says-us-likely-in-recession/20080713092609990001

(2) Obama Picks Senators Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed as Iraq Travel Partners
Jeff Zeleny-New York Times
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/obama-picks-senators-as-iraq-partners/?hp

(3) Obama Says US Troop Withdrawal Backed by Iraqi Leaders
Claudia Parsons-Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSN13328050

(4) Obama Cautious on Steps to Help Mortgage Giants Freddie and Fannie
Claudia Parsons-Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080713/pl_nm/usa_politics_obama_fannie_dc_8

(5) Obama Opposes Excluding Russia from G8
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN12381560

(6) California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Would be Obama's Energy Czar
Mike Allen-Politico
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080713/pl_politico/11710_2

(7) Today on the Presidential Campaign Trail
Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNxTApa2sQRu0Xx99P3jt2bEXw7gD91SQICG5

(8) Obama Setting Up Shop in Indiana
Indianapolis Star-Politics & Government
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080713/NEWS05/807130367

(9) Clinton Asks American Federation of Teachers to Support Obama
Rick Pearson-Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-clinton-chicagojul13,0,6830012.story

(10) Obama Revels in Contrasts with McCain
Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4lIWe9-SY3-yNRrs0N7rmQJO5sQD91SNMTG0

(11) Obama, McCain and Their Awkward Hispanic Outreach
Laura Wides-Munoz-Associated Press
http://www.mlive.com/elections/national/index.ssf?/base/politics-16/121595904234910.xml&storylist=electionmi

(12) Obama "Won't Back Off One Bit" on His Tough Love Message
Sunlen Miller-ABC News-Political Radar
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/obama-wont-back.html

(13) Obama Says He and Jackson Spoke Before Jackson Made "Crude" Comments
Maria Gavrilovic-CBS News-From The Road
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/07/13/politics/fromtheroad/entry4256342.shtml

(14) Obama's Brandenburg Concerto
Romesh Ratnesar-TIME
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1822247,00.html

(15) Obama and McCain Agree on Many Once Divisive Issues
Janet Hook, Peter Wallsten and Peter Nicholas-Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-centrists13-2008jul13,0,4649817.story

(16) Obama Says Pentagon Contracting Processing Needs Audit
Claudia Parsons-Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080713/pl_nm/usa_politics_obama_helicopters_dc_1

(17) Far Left Finding Fault with Obama
William Yardley-International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/13/america/liberal.php

(18) Hair Apparent-Obama Shows Toll of Campaign
Anne Davies-The Age-Australia
http://www.theage.com.au/world/hair-apparent-obama-shows-toll-of-campaign-20080713-3ehs.html

(19) Miss USA Endorses Obama
Agence France Presse
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080713/en_afp/vietnamentertainmentmissuniverseusvoteoffbeat_080713121114

(20) Road Still Bumpy for McCain's Retooled Bandwagon
Charles Babington-Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYfclM-O18clCsF6qDZZJXZTkH9wD91SNFH01

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The America We Love

By Jill 4 Obama - Jul 2nd, 2008 at 8:16 am EDT

Also listed in: 10 groups

Obama Speeches

June 30, 2008
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: The America We Love

On a spring morning in April of 1775, a simple band of colonists - farmers and merchants, blacksmiths and printers, men and boys - left their homes and families in Lexington and Concord to take up arms against the tyranny of an Empire. The odds against them were long and the risks enormous - for even if they survived the battle, any ultimate failure would bring charges of treason, and death by hanging. And yet they took that chance. They did so not on behalf of a particular tribe or lineage, but on behalf of a larger idea. The idea of liberty. The idea of God-given, inalienable rights. And with the first shot of that fateful day - a shot heard round the world - the American Revolution, and America's experiment with democracy, began.

Those men of Lexington and Concord were among our first patriots. And at the beginning of a week when we celebrate the birth of our nation, I think it is fitting to pause for a moment and reflect on the meaning of patriotism - theirs, and ours. We do so in part because we are in the midst of war - more than one and a half million of our finest young men and women have now fought in Iraq and Afghanistan; over 60,000 have been wounded, and over 4,600 have been laid to rest. The costs of war have been great, and the debate surrounding our mission in Iraq has been fierce. It is natural, in light of such sacrifice by so many, to think more deeply about the commitments that bind us to our nation, and to each other.

We reflect on these questions as well because we are in the midst of a presidential election, perhaps the most consequential in generations; a contest that will determine the course of this nation for years, perhaps decades, to come. Not only is it a debate about big issues - health care, jobs, energy, education, and retirement security - but it is also a debate about values. How do we keep ourselves safe and secure while preserving our liberties? How do we restore trust in a government that seems increasingly removed from its people and dominated by special interests? How do we ensure that in an increasingly global economy, the winners maintain allegiance to the less fortunate? And how do we resolve our differences at a time of increasing diversity?

Finally, it is worth considering the meaning of patriotism because the question of who is - or is not - a patriot all too often poisons our political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us together. I have come to know this from my own experience on the campaign trail. Throughout my life, I have always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given. It was how I was raised; it is what propelled me into public service; it is why I am running for President. And yet, at certain times over the last sixteen months, I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged - at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for.

So let me say at this at outset of my remarks. I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.

My concerns here aren't simply personal, however. After all, throughout our history, men and women of far greater stature and significance than me have had their patriotism questioned in the midst of momentous debates. Thomas Jefferson was accused by the Federalists of selling out to the French. The anti-Federalists were just as convinced that John Adams was in cahoots with the British and intent on restoring monarchal rule. Likewise, even our wisest Presidents have sought to justify questionable policies on the basis of patriotism. Adams' Alien and Sedition Act, Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, Roosevelt's internment of Japanese Americans - all were defended as expressions of patriotism, and those who disagreed with their policies were sometimes labeled as unpatriotic.

In other words, the use of patriotism as a political sword or a political shield is as old as the Republic. Still, what is striking about today's patriotism debate is the degree to which it remains rooted in the culture wars of the 1960s - in arguments that go back forty years or more. In the early years of the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War, defenders of the status quo often accused anybody who questioned the wisdom of government policies of being unpatriotic. Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the Sixties reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases, the very idea, of America itself - by burning flags; by blaming America for all that was wrong with the world; and perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor those veterans coming home from Vietnam, something that remains a national shame to this day.

Most Americans never bought into these simplistic world-views - these caricatures of left and right. Most Americans understood that dissent does not make one unpatriotic, and that there is nothing smart or sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America's traditions and institutions. And yet the anger and turmoil of that period never entirely drained away. All too often our politics still seems trapped in these old, threadbare arguments - a fact most evident during our recent debates about the war in Iraq, when those who opposed administration policy were tagged by some as unpatriotic, and a general providing his best counsel on how to move forward in Iraq was accused of betrayal.

Given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions. None of us expect that arguments about patriotism will, or should, vanish entirely; after all, when we argue about patriotism, we are arguing about who we are as a country, and more importantly, who we should be. But surely we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism. And surely we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America's common spirit.

What would such a definition look like? For me, as for most Americans, patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country rooted in my earliest memories. I'm not just talking about the recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance or the Thanksgiving pageants at school or the fireworks on the Fourth of July, as wonderful as those things may be. Rather, I'm referring to the way the American ideal wove its way throughout the lessons my family taught me as a child.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's shoulders and watching the astronauts come to shore in Hawaii. I remember the cheers and small flags that people waved, and my grandfather explaining how we Americans could do anything we set our minds to do. That's my idea of America.

I remember listening to my grandmother telling stories about her work on a bomber assembly-line during World War II. I remember my grandfather handing me his dog-tags from his time in Patton's Army, and understanding that his defense of this country marked one of his greatest sources of pride. That's my idea of America.

I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, listening to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I remember her explaining how this declaration applied to every American, black and white and brown alike; how those words, and words of the United States Constitution, protected us from the injustices that we witnessed other people suffering during those years abroad. That's my idea of America.

As I got older, that gut instinct - that America is the greatest country on earth - would survive my growing awareness of our nation's imperfections: it's ongoing racial strife; the perversion of our political system laid bare during the Watergate hearings; the wrenching poverty of the Mississippi Delta and the hills of Appalachia. Not only because, in my mind, the joys of American life and culture, its vitality, its variety and its freedom, always outweighed its imperfections, but because I learned that what makes America great has never been its perfection but the belief that it can be made better. I came to understand that our revolution was waged for the sake of that belief - that we could be governed by laws, not men; that we could be equal in the eyes of those laws; that we could be free to say what we want and assemble with whomever we want and worship as we please; that we could have the right to pursue our individual dreams but the obligation to help our fellow citizens pursue theirs.

For a young man of mixed race, without firm anchor in any particular community, without even a father's steadying hand, it is this essential American idea - that we are not constrained by the accident of birth but can make of our lives what we will - that has defined my life, just as it has defined the life of so many other Americans.

That is why, for me, patriotism is always more than just loyalty to a place on a map or a certain kind of people. Instead, it is also loyalty to America's ideals - ideals for which anyone can sacrifice, or defend, or give their last full measure of devotion. I believe it is this loyalty that allows a country teeming with different races and ethnicities, religions and customs, to come together as one. It is the application of these ideals that separate us from Zimbabwe, where the opposition party and their supporters have been silently hunted, tortured or killed; or Burma, where tens of thousands continue to struggle for basic food and shelter in the wake of a monstrous storm because a military junta fears opening up the country to outsiders; or Iraq, where despite the heroic efforts of our military, and the courage of many ordinary Iraqis, even limited cooperation between various factions remains far too elusive.

I believe those who attack America's flaws without acknowledging the singular greatness of our ideals, and their proven capacity to inspire a better world, do not truly understand America.

Of course, precisely because America isn't perfect, precisely because our ideals constantly demand more from us, patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader or government or policy. As Mark Twain, that greatest of American satirists and proud son of Missouri, once wrote, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." We may hope that our leaders and our government stand up for our ideals, and there are many times in our history when that's occurred. But when our laws, our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism.

The young preacher from Georgia, Martin Luther King, Jr., who led a movement to help America confront our tragic history of racial injustice and live up to the meaning of our creed - he was a patriot. The young soldier who first spoke about the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib - he is a patriot. Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country's name; insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution - these are the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending that which is best in America. And we should never forget that - especially when we disagree with them; especially when they make us uncomfortable with their words.

Beyond a loyalty to America's ideals, beyond a willingness to dissent on behalf of those ideals, I also believe that patriotism must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice - to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause. For those who have fought under the flag of this nation - for the young veterans I meet when I visit Walter Reed; for those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country - no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides.

We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform. Period. Indeed, one of the good things to emerge from the current conflict in Iraq has been the widespread recognition that whether you support this war or oppose it, the sacrifice of our troops is always worthy of honor.

For the rest of us - for those of us not in uniform or without loved ones in the military - the call to sacrifice for the country's greater good remains an imperative of citizenship. Sadly, in recent years, in the midst of war on two fronts, this call to service never came. After 9/11, we were asked to shop. The wealthiest among us saw their tax obligations decline, even as the costs of war continued to mount. Rather than work together to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and thereby lessen our vulnerability to a volatile region, our energy policy remained unchanged, and our oil dependence only grew.

In spite of this absence of leadership from Washington, I have seen a new generation of Americans begin to take up the call. I meet them everywhere I go, young people involved in the project of American renewal; not only those who have signed up to fight for our country in distant lands, but those who are fighting for a better America here at home, by teaching in underserved schools, or caring for the sick in understaffed hospitals, or promoting more sustainable energy policies in their local communities.

I believe one of the tasks of the next Administration is to ensure that this movement towards service grows and sustains itself in the years to come. We should expand AmeriCorps and grow the Peace Corps. We should encourage national service by making it part of the requirement for a new college assistance program, even as we strengthen the benefits for those whose sense of duty has already led them to serve in our military.

We must remember, though, that true patriotism cannot be forced or legislated with a mere set of government programs. Instead, it must reside in the hearts of our people, and cultivated in the heart of our culture, and nurtured in the hearts of our children.

As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the extraordinary nature of America for granted. But it is our responsibility as Americans and as parents to instill that history in our children, both at home and at school. The loss of quality civic education from so many of our classrooms has left too many young Americans without the most basic knowledge of who our forefathers are, or what they did, or the significance of the founding documents that bear their names. Too many children are ignorant of the sheer effort, the risks and sacrifices made by previous generations, to ensure that this country survived war and depression; through the great struggles for civil, and social, and worker's rights.

It is up to us, then, to teach them. It is up to us to teach them that even though we have faced great challenges and made our share of mistakes, we have always been able to come together and make this nation stronger, and more prosperous, and more united, and more just. It is up to us to teach them that America has been a force for good in the world, and that other nations and other people have looked to us as the last, best hope of Earth. It is up to us to teach them that it is good to give back to one's community; that it is honorable to serve in the military; that it is vital to participate in our democracy and make our voices heard.

And it is up to us to teach our children a lesson that those of us in politics too often forget: that patriotism involves not only defending this country against external threat, but also working constantly to make America a better place for future generations.

When we pile up mountains of debt for the next generation to absorb, or put off changes to our energy policies, knowing full well the potential consequences of inaction, we are placing our short-term interests ahead of the nation's long-term well-being. When we fail to educate effectively millions of our children so that they might compete in a global economy, or we fail to invest in the basic scientific research that has driven innovation in this country, we risk leaving behind an America that has fallen in the ranks of the world. Just as patriotism involves each of us making a commitment to this nation that extends beyond our own immediate self-interest, so must that commitment extends beyond our own time here on earth.

Our greatest leaders have always understood this. They've defined patriotism with an eye toward posterity. George Washington is rightly revered for his leadership of the Continental Army, but one of his greatest acts of patriotism was his insistence on stepping down after two terms, thereby setting a pattern for those that would follow, reminding future presidents that this is a government of and by and for the people.

Abraham Lincoln did not simply win a war or hold the Union together. In his unwillingness to demonize those against whom he fought; in his refusal to succumb to either the hatred or self-righteousness that war can unleash; in his ultimate insistence that in the aftermath of war the nation would no longer remain half slave and half free; and his trust in the better angels of our nature - he displayed the wisdom and courage that sets a standard for patriotism.

And it was the most famous son of Independence, Harry S Truman, who sat in the White House during his final days in office and said in his Farewell Address: "When Franklin Roosevelt died, I felt there must be a million men better qualified than I, to take up the Presidential task…But through all of it, through all the years I have worked here in this room, I have been well aware than I did not really work alone - that you were working with me. No President could ever hope to lead our country, or to sustain the burdens of this office, save the people helped with their support."

In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind - not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, the American people. That is why our heart swells with pride at the sight of our flag; why we shed a tear as the lonely notes of Taps sound. For we know that the greatness of this country - its victories in war, its enormous wealth, its scientific and cultural achievements - all result from the energy and imagination of the American people; their toil, drive, struggle, restlessness, humor and quiet heroism.

That is the liberty we defend - the liberty of each of us to pursue our own dreams. That is the equality we seek - not an equality of results, but the chance of every single one of us to make it if we try. That is the community we strive to build - one in which we trust in this sometimes messy democracy of ours, one in which we continue to insist that there is nothing we cannot do when we put our mind to it, one in which we see ourselves as part of a larger story, our own fates wrapped up in the fates of those who share allegiance to America's happy and singular creed.

Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

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Yes we can michiana Obama Update

By Now the work begins - Jun 15th, 2008 at 8:26 pm EDT

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Yeswecanmichiana.org is a group of Obama volunteers and supporters that meet every Tues evening at 7pm at the West Side Democratic Club at 617 S Warren. Here is an update from our latest meeting.
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