Why Others Support Barack

Maya and Konrad Ng

Barack Obama’s sister and brother-in-law

We are seeking your support of our big brother, Barack Obama, for President. As members of the same community, we want to be sure to let you know that our perspective is important to Barack. For the past few months, Barack has been reaching out to the Asian and Pacific Americans to solicit support and recruit community leaders in his bid for the Presidency. What holds this group together is the belief that Barack is the candidate who inspires people to care about politics and who is someone who brings a wordly sense of intelligence and dignity to political discourse.

We are so excited by Barack’s candidacy and truly believe that his presidency will make this country and world a better place. We also believe that Barack is the first and only presidential candidate who has a personal understanding of the issues and experiences that demarcate our community. Barack spent his early years immersed in the complex combination of Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultural influences. Barack was born in Hawai‘i and spent his adolescence in a state known for its dynamic, pluralistic climate in which Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Hawaiians, Euro-Americans and others engaged in often subtle and constant negotiation. Barack is now based in Illinois, where he has a deep-rooted friendship with the state’s vibrant Asian American community and he returns to Hawai‘i every year to visit us and for rejuvenation. We strongly believe that Barack’s connection to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community is reflected in his politics – he believes in values such as hard work, family, spirituality, education and security.

We recognize that the Asian American and Pacific Islander community is a heterogeneous and complex group that will make informed judgments by considering a variety of perspectives and affiliations. Barack himself asserts that we can be rooted in ethnic and racial communities while not being limited by them. But we feel quite strongly that, once everyone in the community gets to know Barack’s character, policies, and substantive vision, they will surely support him. Our community has the opportunity to support a presidential candidate who has a personal connection to the Asian and Pacific American community. We hope that you will consider joining our efforts to help Barack’s campaign.

It is time to be heard.

To read the Chinese translation of Maya and Konrad's testimonial, click here.

Congresswoman Mazie Hirono

U.S. Congresswoman, 2nd District of Hawai'i

May 9, 2008 Press Release

Today I announce my endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. I do so after watching these historic campaigns unfold across our country, where hundreds of thousands of people participated as never before. It is clear that Americans want our country back on a course of hope and opportunity.

I make my announcement with deep respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton. She is an extraordinary woman. However, it is time to unite the party behind Senator Obama and to use our energy and resources to defeat Senator John McCain. Barack Obama can unite our Party and our country and bring about the positive changes Americans want.

Of course, all of us are especially proud of Senator Obama's deep roots here in our state, and overwhelmingly embraced his candidacy in our recent caucus. His love for Hawaii and understanding of its diversity have given him a foundation for understanding the diversity of our country. I am proud to endorse Senator Obama and I look forward to a winning campaign.

Lisa Ling

Journalist, Host of National Geographic Channel's Explorer, reporter on Channel One News, and special correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey Show
Co-host of ABC's The View (from 1999-2002)

Deserving to be called American

Being an American used to welcome me into people's homes and lives around the world. Over the last decade, I have personally witnessed a drastic change in attitude regarding the U.S. and it's citizens amongst people in the world. I have never been harassed or felt threatened, nor would I ever dissuade Americans from traveling. However, I have been asked hard questions and had to listen to scathing diatribes and denunciations about our country and its selfish and apathetic citizens. It's hard to hear. For the first time in a very long time, I am optimistic about those attitudes changing.

As I write this I am starting to get emotional as I am recalling recent scenes of activism among young people. I was at UCLA on Superbowl Sunday to hear Caroline Kennedy, Oprah and Michelle Obama address thousands of screaming and passionate young people. First off, Michelle's speech was as powerful as any that I've seen her husband deliver which is to say that it was simply extraordinary. As an ardent supporter of public schools and trying desperately to fix them, my favorite of Michelle's lines was, "When you see me, I don't want you to see the future First Lady. I want you to see the investment you've made in public education."

After asking if the audience could imagine what it was like for a white woman to have a black child in the 60's, another thing that moved me was when she asked something to the effect of, "wouldn't it be nice to have a President who has lived overseas?" My answer is: YES!

The notion that a man with an Kenyan father and Caucasian American mother from humble origins who worked his way to becoming the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review and immediately went to work in the inner cities to help improve people's lives, excites me. That he spent his formidable years living in Indonesia, speaks the language and can navigate in a world that has become increasingly skeptical of the U.S., excites me. That he has transcended party lines and energized deeply disenchanted and polarized Americans, excites me. Case in point, my mother is a die-hard Republican who raised money for George W. Bushshe is extremely excited about Barack Obama.

As someone who follows foreign policy and spends much of her time in the world, the thing we need most is healing. Our image in the world has been tarnished severely. The person we elect as President in November will immediately send a message to the world. Frankly, any of the candidates would send a better message than what we've got now. But we have an opportunity for a do-over in a matter of speaking. We live in a global economy and it matters that our leaders understand what this world is like. Everyday that we breathe, we utilize products and services that come from somewhere around the world. A keen understanding of how the world works matters. It not only makes us smarter, but it ultimately makes us more human.

I cannot think of a better message to send to the world in November than electing Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.

Lisa Ling is a Chinese-American journalist, best known for her role as a co-host of ABC's The View (from 1999-2002), host of National Geographic Channel's Explorer, reporter on Channel One News, and special correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey Show.

To read the Chinese translation, click here

Janet Yang

Film producer of The Joy Luck Club, The People VS. Larry Flynt, Zero Effect, High Crimes, and the soon to be released Dark Matter

I am exhausted and bleary-eyed from too many nights with too little sleep. My mind can't stop racing and my heartbeat is unusually quickened. I speak to many who are in a similar state. Am I in love? Have I caught a fever?

Actually yes on both fronts, and the culprit of this heightened state of existence is a married man whom I have met only a handful of times. Once, I got to kiss him on the cheek. He is having an effect on so many people like me for a reason -- because for the first time in our lives we care DESPERATELY that he become the next President of the United States of America. His name is Barack Obama and we are convinced, that whatever the outcome of the election, he is already making history.

I ask myself why this man? What are the qualities he embodies that have created a veritable national movement? I try to look at this moment in time with objectivity, and I see two revolutions taking place simultaneously. One is the technological revolution. It is the one that's changed my life because I no longer have to worry about returning phone calls within the proscribed hours of a business day. I can instantaneously and effortlessly "talk" to people all over the world and if I don't get to them when I need to, I have only myself to blame. It is the revolution that allows us to find the right mate, apartment, object, factoid, to near perfection. It allows us to find and create a community of like-minded people, even if those members are not in close proximity. In short, we never have to feel alone. As a filmmaker, it is liberating, and frightening, to know that our work can perhaps find its audience through the age-old tradition of word-of-mouth, now infinitely more amplified, rather than living or dying by the pre-judgments and purse strings of an elite establishment. Great things can come of this.

This revolution has given the individual the tools for unlimited empowerment -- to flourish, express, seek, beckon -- in an uncompromised way.

The second revolution is the spiritual revolution. This revolution has been quietly taking place for decades. It is evidenced by the books that make it to NY Times bestseller lists. Although often termed "new age", this revolution is fueled by notions taken from ancient and Eastern religions and medicine. It recognizes what scientists today now say is "provable" -- that we are comprised not so much of matter as energy. Our very beliefs can affect the "real" world around us. We are all interrelated in this swirl of energy that we call the universe. What one person does affects another.

These two revolutions have something in common they are truly grass-roots by nature. They are not being dictated from above by government or any institution. Rather, the traditional institutions have some trepidation about their uncontrolled nature and must try hard to stay abreast of their emerging trends. In these revolutions, each person counts. Each person is a hit on a site, or someone newly empowered. Less important are the boxes we check in regard to race, economic status, geography. Those boxes do not represent us satisfactorily; do not have the complexity and nuance of our own pictures and words. In my opinion, the two movements together can bring about something akin to our liberation as a human race. By this I mean we can strive to become our most fully realized, individualized selves, in all our authenticity, and still recognize that we are irrefutably in this together as one. I have spent too many precious, formative years trying to "fit in" to the types cranked out by statistical analysis or lifestyles projected from TV shows, believing as I did that there was a "they" out there who had all the answers. I now have a soaring hope that we can create a world that truly represents who we are, and the confidence to know that if I feel something deeply, there is a very good chance that so do many others.

Barack Obama is so popular, especially amongst youth, because he has an innate understanding of this phenomenon. He recognizes that our separation will be our downfall, that we can no longer afford to compartmentalize our demographics or ignore what's going on on the other side of town or the world. Artists must talk to scientists; young must talk to old; Muslims must talk to Christians; laborers must talk to CEO's, if we are to survive. For the first time ever, we have the tools for reaching virtually everyone. And we have no excuse not to.

We have been living at least this past century overly enamored with the notions of categorization, specialization, division of labor, delineation of race, differences of age, differentiation of gender. We have lost our humanity, and even an innate sense of logic, in the process.

More and more, young people especially don't want to be categorized. They seem to recognize that society should not be dominated by any one group of people. They are better-informed, more self-aware and more worldly than we were at their age. I tell my nine-year old that he will be better equipped to solve the problems of the world than I am. These are new problems that we have never faced before how could anyone trust someone like me, who was foolhardy enough to slather baby oil on my body to further attract the sun's rays, to handle global warming?

I am glad Barack Obama is relatively young. He is, for the record, barely younger than Bill Clinton or JFK when they assumed office. But his refreshingly unencumbered life in politics is a tremendous asset for me. How else can someone be clear-thinking and bring fresh ideas to the mix? How else can you see through the glass we've made murky and clouded to see it still, half-full?

Barack Obama is a person first, and a politician second. In this coming era, it is so important that we look at who are, and not just what we do. He has the substance of character and that unseen power the Chinese call "qi" that serve him well beyond the political arena. He is an authentic human being with an unneat personal history like so many of us. He has taken his God-given attributes and made the most of them. He has courageously embraced his soul's journey and found his calling in life. He has tapped into the zeitgeist of what undeniably already is. Barack Obama is the one whose hand I want to hold when marching into the uncertain future.

Janet Yang is a film producer of such works as THE JOY LUCK CLUB, THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, ZERO EFFECT, HIGH CRIMES, and the soon to be released DARK MATTER, with Meryl Streep and Chinese star Liu Ye.

To read the Chinese translation, click here

Jay Chen

Member of Southern California's Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District Board of Education

The right man, the right time

Generations from today, we will look back upon 2008 as the year our country not just awoke from a national nightmare of bankrupt leadership and ethical lapses, but the instance at which a shackle of our past was broken and another step taken towards filling the promise that has made our country great; that we are all created equal. That the mantle of leadership in this country is not reserved only for those who look like our founding fathers is probably not exactly what our founding fathers had originally envisioned. Nevertheless this implication of equality is what has made our nation of immigration not just successful, but a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. It is this hope which inspired my parents and thousands of others to leave Taiwan to create a new life in America. And it is this creed of equality that has allowed the son of a Kenyan goat-herder and Kansan mother to make the convincing case to me and a growing number of Americans that he is the singular candidate for President.

Never before has our nation been in greater need of a leader that can affirm that our nation's best years are yet to come. Never before has the world been in greater need of an America that leads through inspiration rather than dictation. It is of course absolutely unfair to ask that any one man or woman undo the wreckage caused by the current administration. Our Constitution is in tatters. While we burn hundreds of billions overseas on a war against the Muslim world that never should have been waged, New Orleans and inner cities in our own country continue their decay, in lock step with our education system.

While he isn't the magic bullet, in light of how far our nation has fallen and how quickly he may be able to help us recover, it is easy to mistake Barack Obama for being one. If there was ever a time that we needed to elect an African American constitutional law professor, who understands the Muslim world not through faulty intelligence reports but from having actually lived there, it is now. If there was ever a time we needed a leader who had the clarity to oppose the Iraq War before it began, and who does not attribute that decision to clairvoyance but to common sense, it is now. If there was ever a time that we needed a President who made a conscious choice to spend his formative years empowering and organizing less fortunate communities instead of building his own wealth, it is now. And if there was ever a time that we needed to reaffirm America's place in the world as a beacon of hope and positive change, by electing to the highest office in the land a man whose unencumbered right to vote is even younger than he is, it is now. To borrow an oft-used but wholly appropriate phrase, there has never been a more a fierce urgency of now, and there has never been a greater need in the nation or world for Barack Obama.

Jay Chen is the newest member of Southern California's Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District Board of Education, and was elected with the top vote in 2007.

To read the Chinese translation, click here

Joint Statement by the Hon. Norman Y. Mineta and the Hon. Don Edwards

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and Former Member of Congress

Each of us, not quite a half century ago, chose to enter the political arena and the world of public service in San Jose, California. We were prompted to do that in no small measure by a President who challenged us to "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." We were inspired by John F. Kennedy’s eloquence, but we were motivated by his example, as well -- his youth, his vibrancy, his determination, his optimism, and his commitment to the principle that we all have a responsibility to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Once again we can sense the promise and the power of possibility -- the very qualities that typify Silicon Valley and its residents -- that have been generated by another visionary, courageous, and dynamic leader, a person who we believe will be, and most certainly should be, the next President of the United States of America, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

Barack Obama is a remarkable person with a remarkable life’s story. The son of a student from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas... a man whose youth was spent living and learning in the rich culture of Indonesia and the magnificent diversity of Hawaii... who then studied and excelled as an undergraduate at Columbia University and at Harvard Law School... a man who, rather than accepting a lucrative position in some high powered and privileged corporate law firm, instead chose to become a community organizer in the toughest neighborhoods and on the grittiest streets of Chicago... a man who was elected to the Illinois state legislature and then to the U.S. Senate and who, in both bodies, quickly earned a reputation as a smart, effective, and respected legislator and leader.

Now Barack Obama is not only running for President of the United States, he is changing the way American political campaigns are conducted. He is showing that our leaders can once again be viewed with respect and admiration. Perhaps most importantly, he is inspiring a whole new generation of Americans to become engaged in the civic life of our country.

Barack Obama is sending a clear and unmistakable message to people of all generations -- to people of all colors, of all faiths, of all partisan persuasions, of all life styles -- that America’s problems and challenges belong to all of us, that opportunities are and must be universal, and that hope, optimism, determination, responsibility and sacrifice should be shared qualities and characteristics.

Four decades ago, another young Senator challenged us to greatness by demanding that we face up to our responsibilities to make this world a better place -- to fight for justice at home and abroad, to work for peace, to overcome the ravages of poverty and disease. As Robert Kennedy said then, "All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don’t. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity."

The same could be said today. It is a time when we need to, and can, call upon the better angels of our spirit, when we can end the politics of division and false choices. It is a time when we can elect a national leader who is determined that each of us can make a difference, and whose own life and career testify to the truth of that determination. We can elect a President who believes in us as much as we want to believe in him. We can, in short, elect a President who makes us proud to be Americans. And that is why we are supporting Senator Barack Obama in his quest to become the next President of the United States of America.

Additional statement by Norman Mineta

My parents came to this country because they knew that it was a place where individuals could pursue their own dreams and chart their own future. And like Barack Obama, I grew up in a home where we were taught that we have an obligation to leave the world a better place for our children and grandchildren, and for the eternity of future generations.

I have been given the rare privilege of serving my community and country as an elected official and as a Cabinet member for two Presidents -- one from each party. When appointed Commerce Secretary by President Bill Clinton, I became the first American of Asian ancestry to ever serve in the Cabinet of any President, and I will be forever grateful for the confidence he placed in me, and for the respect he showed our community. I have the highest regard for the former President and First Lady, Senator Hillary Clinton; I applaud their outstanding and continuing service to our country.

Yet, we are beginning a new chapter in American history, and I am convinced that Barack Obama is the best person to write it, that he can both change and unite America. That is why I am supporting Barack Obama to be President of the United States of America.

Nancy Chen

Former APA Outreach Director for the Office of Presidential Personnel (1996 – 1997)
Former Chicago Director for Senator Paul Simon (D – IL) (1991 – 1996)
Co-Chair, Obama AAPI National Leadership Council

I met Senator Barack Obama at a community meeting in Chinatown during his Senate race in 2004. Having heard him talk about the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon as his mentor and that he would carry the late Senator’s mantle of honesty and integrity, I asked Senator Obama if he would also carry on Senator Simon’s strong commitment to the Asian American community, not just in Illinois, but throughout the nation.

As many Asian Americans remember, during his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Simon always stood with the Asian American community against all attacks on legal immigration and on language services for non-English speaking immigrants. He authored the Hate Crime Statistics Act and extended the Voting Rights Act to ensure equal protection for those who do not have a voice. Senator Simon is best remembered as a man of compassion and inclusiveness.

Senator Obama looked me in the eye and said, “Nancy, it will be an honor for me to continue his legacy to be a senator to serve all people. I want to continue to work with the Asian American community as I have done in the Illinois State Senate and, as a U.S. Senator, I will certainly reach out to Asian Americans across the country."

I had the honor and privilege of working for Senator Simon as Director of his Chicago Senate Office. To hear Senator Obama speak with such reverence about my mentor, I knew then that we would again have a champion for our community.

My support for Senator Obama’s presidency goes deeper than his popular image of an intelligent and thoughtful man. His multicultural background gives many of us the reassurance that he has a great understanding about the complexity of Americans as well as the world. But most importantly, it is his belief in the basic decency of the American people. His positive attitude will unite our nation which is badly divided now and give hope to the world that America will once again be the shining example of what a great nation ought to be.

Angela E. Oh

Former Member, President's Initiative on Race (1997 – 1998)

I am supposed to be a supporter of Hillary Clinton – the Senator from New York. That’s because I was once a Presidential Appointee of her husband, Bill Clinton. I suppose that the issue of loyalty in politics is what has always kept me out of politics in any formal way.

I once had a political friend tell me, “Angela, if you ever want to be a real player you have to ask for something. If you don’t you will never be trusted in the political play – you have to ask and owe. It’s expected."

I have not asked much over the years. Mostly, I have inquired as to whether it was possible to do one thing or meet someone. If it was possible, great; if not, okay. I was well aware that being involved in politics meant two things: money and money. It is the essence of the process. You need money to travel, to engage, to communicate, to get experts to help. I don’t have much; so I never am able to give much . . . I give what I can and I encourage those whom I know to donate to the process because they like the candidate or issue and they have the resources to spend.

Mostly, I engage myself in the process by staying informed; and doing what I do best: I am a translator. Not in terms of languages, but in terms of cultures: gender, ethnic, racial, political, regional, national, international. This means I spend much time examining, reflecting, processing, and sharing. It is a great privilege for me to be able to play such a role in the lives of so many different kinds of people.

In approaching the Presidential cycle of 2008, I have found it fascinating to observe and to feel the press of yet another political race. This time, it is particularly interesting because our current leadership has revealed itself to be precisely as self-serving and hard-hearted as the critics have claimed. As each unhappy truth reveals itself: the lies or willful ignorance of administration officials that led to the introduction of the "pre-emptive strike doctrine" causing us to engage in war; the conflicts of interest in both private industry and government contracting in connection with war-related services; the waste of federal tax revenue in support of conflict rather than building peace; the drive toward more poverty through federal legislation dismantling programs for children, elders, and the working poor; the exploitation of natural resources and willful refusal to engage with the international community to find solutions – all point in the direction of a need for change. Big change.

Obama represents the possibility for some change. As the junior U.S. Senator of the state of Illinois, he has demonstrated an ability to engage in our political process in a manner that is intelligent, realistic, and focused. He has been criticized as being “too young” and “too inexperienced” to lead the nation. Those are criticisms that are worthy of consideration but certainly not determinative or deterrent. Both criticisms have to do with doubt. Doubt that his candidacy is mature enough and experienced enough to handle the pressures of the Presidency.

It seemed to me, that the White House – the most powerful political institution in the world – was always “on.” It was 24/7 operation and it included some of the most dedicated and intelligent individuals in the country – they planned for everything. But each day, each week – another emergency arose and inevitably, there was a plan that had not been prepared. In my view, Obama will bring people who can match any administration – past or current – in providing the quality of public service we have enjoyed as a nation up to this day. I have no concerns in this regard.

What makes Obama the candidate who is best suited for the office today? It is his being. His very essence. Obama seems to be a man who holds well all the contradictions that this nation currently struggles with collectively: youth, inexperience, a desire to do good in the world while doing well, lots of ideas and lots of energy, an exuberance that is sometimes misread as arrogance and insensitivity, and a heart that wishes to serve a greater common good.

I say he holds these qualities well because he seems to recognize both his strengths and weaknesses as a candidate for the office of the Presidency. In that recognition, he has sought the advice and counsel of those far more experienced than himself. Yet, he has maintained a clear voice that appears still to be authentically his own. He has chosen to be a candidate in a Presidential race that is pivotal for this nation. We find ourselves once again at a crossroads at a moment in human history that feels different from the last Presidential cycle. It feels that the destiny of all of humanity is in the balance today, given our capacity for war or peace; our capacity to choose a course that will allow us to live in a world that is more a garden than a dumping ground; our capacity to reach across cultures and traditions and religions to find the common humanity among all people across many nations. The right leader must emerge who can speak to these challenges, without words, but in their very being. That candidate, it seems to me, is Obama.

In the midst of the criticism of his youth and inexperience, I still sense that even his critics hope that he can make his point. I am pleased to hear and see that Obama has chosen to move in a decisive and serious way – apparently understanding that his very being puts many issues into play. The bottom line: when I see all the candidates in the field, Obama makes me feel most secure in the world that we live in today. He is the leader for these times. That’s the gut-level test. He is the only one who passes it for me.

Angela E. Oh is Of Counsel at Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert in Los Angeles, California. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as one of seven advisors to the President’s Initiative on Race.

Hrishi Karthikeyan

Attorney and Co-Founder of grassroots South Asians for Obama

I support Barack Obama because of his unique ability to bring people together to change our country. I am inspired by his commitment to move beyond the divisive politics that puts winning elections ahead of solving problems. He is not content to settle for 51-percent solutions that leave half the country feeling excluded. Rather, his campaign is a testament to what his administration will represent: millions of new participants in the political process, new ideas to challenge the conventional thinking in Washington, and power vested in the people and the rule of law – not lobbyists and ideologues.

As a South Asian American, I believe Senator Obama's story is my own, and his vision represents my hope for a better tomorrow. Like me, he is the son of a foreign-born father, and he can relate to the struggles of our community with issues of race and identity in this country. At the same time, he recognizes that we are not a monolithic, one-issue constituency. Like all Americans, we care deeply and have constructive ideas about the challenges we face as a country – health care for all, a good education for every child, protection for workers, and security in our old age. Perhaps most importantly, he recognizes that America's place in the world is earned by leadership and inspiration, not fear and arrogance.

As Senator Obama has stated so eloquently, our individual salvation depends on our collective salvation. I am supporting this campaign because I believe this election is bigger than one man, one ideology, or one person’s immediate self-interest. It is about bringing people of all faiths, colors, backgrounds and experiences together to build a better country for all. I believe Senator Obama is uniquely positioned to accomplish this goal, which is why I am proud to support him.

Ann Lata Kalayil

Former DNC at-large member and APIA Caucus

Rarely do you find a presidential candidate like Senator Obama, whose great intellect, life experience and sound judgment offer us the opportunity to take America to a brighter and better future. His journey to become a Presidential candidate did not happen overnight. For over a decade, I have seen Senator Obama work hard to reach out across diverse groups to bridge the ethnic, class, gender and political divides and change politics as usual. He has this rare talent of understanding the complexities of issues and finding common ground in every difficult situation. Senator Obama's support for an inclusive educational curriculum, fair immigration policies, affordable healthcare, protection of basic civil rights, and a responsible foreign policy are all issues that concern Asian Americans greatly. His candidacy ushers in a "different" kind of politics, namely, one that gives hope to many who have long remained marginalized and disillusioned with politics. I sincerely believe by electing Senator Obama as President of the United States, we are reclaiming our citizenship and building a better America for the future generation.

Preeta Bansal

Former Solicitor General of the State of New York
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Barack Obama is not the kind of flash-in-the pan phenomenon that some of his rivals may be hoping for and expecting. He is truly one of the rare people, especially in the political arena -- whose sheen and star power comes from the inside out, from the strength and calmness of his character and the strength and clarity of his moral vision which generate energy, excitement and, above all, hope wherever he goes. He is not an overnight phenomenon. He is the real thing. While we hear much about the candidates’ relative experience and inexperience in terms of how many cabinet posts they have held or how many offices to which they have been elected, we hear little of their life experience, or the grit and stamina and poise they have displayed in getting to where they are from where they came. Barack -- through the multitude of his life experiences and the calm, respectful style of his leadership -- is someone who naturally and instinctively bridges so many divides: the global background of his youth, with the local communities he organized as an adult; the blue states of Democrats, with the red states from which his mother and grandparents came. He is a man of great intellect, experience, judgment, integrity, and leadership. He is a man of faith, but an inclusive sense of faith -- a faith that tempers his great intellect with humility, not a faith that aims to mask a lack of intellect or analytical rigor with false certitude. His is a moral compass that will guide him and our nation well. As we try to work to clean up America’s image and policy toward the world and its policies at home, I can think of no better leader than Senator Obama, who -- in part because who he is and where he came from, but also because of what he believes in -- would give American a whole new fresh chance.

Eddie Wong

Former National Field Director of the 1988 Jesse Jackson for President Campaign; Media and political consultant; Member of the Executive Committee of the Obama AAPI National Leadership Committee

Twenty years ago, as I stood in the bitter cold in a parking lot in Iowa, I saw a sight I thought I'd never see. A crowd of white meat packers, big beefy men and their wives and children, shuffled their feet in quiet anticipation. They shielded their eyes against the low winter sun, stamping their feet for warmth on the frozen ground. They were waiting to hear my boss, the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. No one knew what to expect from this unlikely meeting of the southern-born civil rights veteran and these heartland folk who had been on strike for months and now down to their last savings. As Rev. Jackson began to speak, I could see heads nodding as he told them that their sacrifice was redemptive and that they were not alone in their fight for fair wages and safe working conditions. He took their strike and cast it against the larger economic violence that came out of President Reagan's union-busting practices and the failures of a trickle-down economy than brought wealth to the rich and poverty to the working poor. As Rev. Jackson spoke, he ignited a sense of pride and dignity to these men and women. He brought them to their feet with tears in their eyes with the cry, "Keep Hope Alive."

Twenty years later, Senator Barack Obama is standing with the workers, farmers, students, the elderly and others in Iowa preaching a similar message of hope and offering a new way forward for our country. Just as the Rev. Jackson offered a break from Reaganomics and repression, Senator Obama would take us away from the destruction of Bush's war policies and restore our democracy. Just as Rev. Jackson offered a message of hope across racial and class divides, Senator Obama is building a bridge across generations and constituencies.

Senator Obama is the new messenger of hope, justice and equality. His call for ordinary people to take back their government from the lobbyists, the fat-cats, the entrenched powers which have reaped mega-profits through back-room deals is exactly what we need at this critical moment when the level of inequality is at an all-time high. His pledge to engage directly with foreign leaders who oppose us and with allies who should be partners in solving the intractable conflicts that present such dangers for all of us is exactly what we need to do to repair damaged relationships.

This moment in U.S. history poses a turning point that can set the course for decades. The crises posed by global warming, a protracted struggle against Islamic extremists, the deepening inequality in our country, our deteriorating infrastructure and declining educational system, and our tarnished international reputation cry out for new answers and new approaches. Sen. Obama is the best person to meet the challenges of this historical moment. He has shown a deep grasp of issues and more importantly exhibited the ability to listen to other points of view and find ways to build alliances across historic barriers.

Senator Obama is the man with the vision, clarity, and ability to meet the challenges of our times. He is the man and this is the moment, for change, for hope, for a better America.