Thursday, January 31, 2008

An Endorsement for Barack Obama by Tom Hyden


An Endorsement of the Movement Barack Obama Leads
By Tom Hayden January 30, 2008
Posted January 27, on
Huffington Post.
With the California primary ten days away, it's time to decide. And for me, it's not been easy.
My paramount concern is to prevent a Republican victory in November. Even though it seems to be a Democratic year, no one can say which Democratic can defeat, say, John McCain, the full-throated advocate of "winning" the Iraq war. At stake are many issues beyond Iraq, not least the appointment of the next generation of federal judges.
I will vote without hesitation for the Democratic nominee, if only to stop to the neo-conservative usurpation of power which began in Florida in 2000.
One must choose a candidate based on the issues for which they stand, the spirit they invoke, and the people they are able to mobilize. As for issues, the differences between Obama and Clinton on Iraq are difficult to pin down. Obama was against the Iraq war five years ago, and favors a more rapid pullout of combat troops than Clinton. But both would replace combat troops with an American counterinsurgency force of tens of thousands, potentially turning Iraq into Central America in the 1970s. Obama seems more supportive of diplomacy than Clinton, but he supports military intervention in Pakistan's tribal areas. Edwards favors a more rapid pullout from Iraq, but is unlikely to prevail.
On Iraq, the anti-war movement has helped turn a public majority against the war, a historic achievement. But the movement alone lacks much capacity to forge anything beyond the slogan of "bring the troops home." Our most achievable goal is a strong voter mandate for peace in November, the election of more Congressional Democrats, and spreading public awareness of the dangers of counterinsurgency. The election of a Democratic president is a necessary condition for ending the war, but sadly not a sufficient one.
So the choice remains.
I do not like the Hillary haters in our midst. As president, her court appointees alone would represent a relief from the present rigging of the courts and marginal improvements for working people. On Iraq, I believe she could be pushed to withdraw. She is a centrist, and it will be up to social movements to alter the center.
Nor do I like the role being played by President Bill Clinton, who is telling lies about Iraq and Obama that are unbecoming a former president. Neither do I agree with Gloria Steinem's divisive claim that the gender barrier is greater than the racial one. Who wants to measure slavery against the Inquisition? In the case at hand, who among us would argue that the barriers against Hillary Clinton are greater than those facing Barack Obama? What is compelling is that most black women support Obama.
I respect John Edwards' campaign and the role he has played in driving the Democratic Party towards a progressive agenda. At this point, however, I cannot foresee a primary he will win.
That leaves Barack Obama. I have been devastated by too many tragedies and betrayals over the past 40 years to ever again deposit so much hope in any single individual, no matter how charismatic or brilliant. But today I see across the generational divide the spirit, excitement, energy and creativity of a new generation bidding to displace the old ways. Obama's moment is their moment, and I pray that they succeed without the sufferings and betrayals my generation went through. There really is no comparison between the Obama generation and those who would come to power with Hillary Clinton, and I suspect she knows it. The people she would take into her administration may have been reformers and idealists in their youth, but they seem to seek now a return to their establishment positions of power. They are the sorts of people young Hillary Clinton herself would have scorned at Wellesley. If history is any guide, the new "best and brightest" of the Obama generation will unleash a new cycle of activism, reform and fresh thinking before they follow pragmatism to its dead end.
Many ordinary Americans will take a transformative step down the long road to the Rainbow Covenant if Obama wins. For at least a brief moment, people around the world -- from the shantytowns to the sweatshops, even to the restless rich of the Sixties generation -- will look up from the treadmills of their shrunken lives to the possibilities of what life still might be. Environmental justice and global economic hope would dawn as possibilities.
Is Barack the one we have been waiting for? Or is it the other way around? Are we the people we have been waiting for? Barack Obama is giving voice and space to an awakening beyond his wildest expectations, a social force that may lead him far beyond his modest policy agend. Such movements in the past led the Kennedys and Franklin Roosevelt to achievements they never contemplated. [As Gandhi once said of India's liberation movement, "There go my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader."]
We are in a precious moment where caution must yield to courage. It is better to fail at the quest for greatness than to accept our planet's future as only a reliving of the past. So I endorse the movement that Barack Obama has inspired and will support his candidacy in the inevitable storms ahead.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

CAPE AND ISLANDERS FOR BARACK OBAMA

Friends: There are just a few days left to do what we can do what we can to help our guy, right here where we live, to win the Massachusetts primary.

We will be holding signs , making calls, sending emails, handing out brochures, contributing to the campaign-------

What difference does all this really make? Barack is the star. He is what this is all about. But in a close election the work of the grass roots teams-- that's us , folks -- can be the difference between winning and losing.

If we are determined, if we are out there and visible in numbers , if we really work at this, we are seen as the face and the voice of the campaign in our communities. Seeing us and hearing us gives comfort and and confidence to committed Barack supporters and the leaners and can tip the balance in Barack's favor with the still undecided.

I want to thank all of you for being part of this. I have been involved in other presidential campaigns , but I haver never before seen the likes of the spirit and energy and dedication that Barack inspires in people. I have people calling and emailing me all day long to ask how they can help. We are,for sure, " all fired up and ready to go".

Here's what is happening in the days ahead. I know you will join us where and when you can.
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VISIBILITIES: WE will be gathering ON SATURDAY to hold signs at:
-- The Orleans/Eastham Rotary from 10 to 12 AM
>-- The Four Corners in Harwich --Rte 137 and Rte 39 from 2 to 4 PM
>-- The Cape Cod Mall from 12 to 2
>-- Patriots Square on RT 134 in Dennis from 1 to 3
>-- In Falmouth at the intersection of RT 28 and Jones Road ( Stop and Shop ) staring at 9:30 AM
-- And if enough people show up in Falmouth they will send off a satellite team to Mashpee Commons. Check with Charlie Silva at 508-548-8698
All you have to do is show up at any of these locations. We will bring the signs.


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PHONE CALLING: We are making calls from Brewster ( Paul Hush 508-896-3406) , Barnstable ( Kate Singletary (508-775-2750) and Falmouth ( Charlie Silva (508-548-8698 ), and are awaiting new lists from Boston. We will contact phoners who have already volunteered for that , as needed.
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EMAILING: We will ask each of you who can do so to email to those friends and neighbors and contacts who you feel will be interested in hearing about Barack. To help in this Kate Singletary has put together from the Obama website an email summary of Barack's positions on major issues that you can forward to your list with an introductory sentence or two from you. I will send you the Kate Singletary email today.

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HANDING OUT BROCHURES: ON FRIDAY at 10 AM Charlie Silva in Falmouth and I at 11 AM in Orleans will be handing out Obama brochures and lapel stickers to whoever is interested, in front of the local Stop and Shop. I think Charlie already has some folks to help in Falmouth ,but call if you are interested, and I could use 3 or 4 volunteers to help me in Orleans. Just let me know.

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LAWN SIGNS: So far we have only been able to get 100 lawn signs for the whole Cape and we are in the process of distributing these by town. If you live at an especially visible location-- main routes-- let me know so that Charlie or Kate or I or someone else will get you a sign.
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ELECTION DAY AT THE POLLS: We will want to get volunteers to hold signs for a couple of hours on Feb 5 at as many polling places on the Cape and Islands as we can. Please let Charlie ( on the Upper Cape ) Kate ( on the Mid-Cape) or me ( on the Outer/Lower Cape know if you can help in this.
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Thanks to all. You will have heard by now that John Edwards is dropping out as of today. This will help us.

ALL Best Paul Hush

PS: IN a Bourne Middle School mock primary held today Obama got 97 votes and Clinton got 17 !! Let's hope this reflects the views of there parents.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

A President Like My Father -Caroline Kennedy



Op-Ed Contributor
A President Like My Father

By CAROLINE KENNEDY

OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

Caroline Kennedy is the author of “A Patriot’s Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.”