Organizing for America | Jaime Mulligan's Blog: Jodie

Post from Obama HQ:

Jodie

By Jaime Mulligan - Dec 16th, 2007 at 11:34 am EST

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In Mason City last night, a crowd of at least 400 gathered to hear Barack speak. About an hour before the event began, the line wrapped around the cafeteria of Roosevelt Middle School:

Our organization here in Iowa revolves around personal relationships built by the amazing Iowans who dedicate their time to working for change. They make phone calls, knock on doors, talk to their neighbors, and help at events. At the sign-in table in Mason City, I met Jodie.

Jodie lives about four blocks from the middle school and walked over on a cold December night to help make sure everyone who came to the event was accounted for. She has two kids, and her husband is a laborer.

Jodie’s going back to school to become a medical assistant and really loves her classes. She said she first heard about Barack through one of our Faith-Action-Change forums, and that she thinks he has great ideas, especially on health care.

Jodie hasn’t had health insurance for two years. When I asked her if she’d been to the doctor in that time, she shook her head no and said that her family just could not afford it, between housing, food, school, and other bills. Her kids are on Medicaid. She is just waiting for the herniated disc in her back to give out again and require surgery.

With half of all personal bankruptcies in the United States a result of health care costs, all Jodie and others like her can do is pray that their health will not give out before they find the spare thousands of dollars to get health insurance or find an employer that can afford to offer it to them.

For Jodie, her lack of health care has nothing to do with her not wanting it, or because she’s not required to have it – it’s just not affordable. That’s why Barack has a universal health care plan centered around making health care more affordable. Read about it here:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

Having situations like Jodie’s cannot be who we are in this country, and the crowd last night in Mason City came out for Barack because it’s time to try something new.

There’s too much at stake for every American to continue settling for what the cynics say we have to settle for - a divided America, a polarized political process, a ‘battle’ of the parties instead of a partnership of citizens forging a new path forward together.

Choose hope over fear. Join us.

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