Getting out the vote

Last Friday I sent the following email to 225 people I know in the states that are holding Democratic primaries and caucuses tomorrow:

Hello!

If you are receiving this, you're a friend or family member who lives in a state that's holding it's Democratic primary or caucus next Tuesday.

On January 19th, I caucused here in Nevada for Barack Obama.

On February 5th, I ask you to to join me and support him as well by voting or caucusing for him in your state.

Since I began following the presidential race in high school, I've always been drawn to candidates on the basis of their experience, integrity, and principles.

Unfortunately, that's rarely been a successful strategy as most of the candidates I've picked have lost out early in the process.

And, in fact, I've only once voted for the winner in a presidential election, in 1992.

But this year is different: the candidate who has the integrity that I look for has inspired the imaginations of millions of other voters.

I chose Obama because he shares my sense that the country has lost sight of the common good and that partisan politics in Washington is poisoning our national well-being. I chose him because I believe he is a once-in-a-generation figure who has the ability to enlist the American people in rising to the challenges facing them, someone who asks us to be better than they know ourselves to be.

If you are not already an Obama supporter, please take some time to look over his positions at his website. Watch some of the videos of his speeches and get a feel for why people are responding to him so strongly (he's getting thousands of people excited about voting for the first time).

And read my open letter to February 5th voters that's posted on my blog.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to share them with me. I'll do my best to answer them.

Please forward to anyone and everyone who you think may be interested.

But most of all, please vote for Obama next Tuesday and stand up for what is possible in America!

Thanks for your time and consideration,
m

But now it is up to us to help the entire nation embrace this vision. Because in the end, we are not just up against the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, we are also struggling against our own doubts, our own fears, and our own cynicism. The change we seek has always required great struggle and sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we’re willing to work for it.

So let me remind you tonight that change will not be easy. That change will take time. There will be setbacks, and false starts, and sometimes we will make mistakes. But as hard as it may seem, we cannot lose hope. Because there are people all across this country who are counting us; who can’t afford another four years without health care or good schools or decent wages because our leaders couldn’t come together and get it done.

-- Barack Obama, 1/26/08