Dear Hillary Supporter

The day after I put up my first blog post, a friend sent me this note:

I was a big Hillary supporter. I won’t go into all the reasons I really like her since she’s campaign history. But I will admit that I am still a bit wounded by the fact that she was not selected as the Democratic nominee. Because of this I have not been able to fully embrace Barack Obama as enthusiastically as our party’s nominee. Of course I will be voting for Barack, but I would love to do it without feeling like I’m just voting on party lines. Unfortunately, the few Hillary supporters I do know are saying that they will not be voting at all – eek! Will you address why you love him so much? What is it about him that inspired your allegiance? Speak to the former Hillary supporters and convince us!!

I’m honored at the request. Here’s my best shot...

Dear Hillary Supporter,

I will not insult your intelligence or your passion for your candidate by saying all the usual consolation prize stuff like “She will always be a great leader for our country,” or “We’re all proud of Hillary” yada yada. Let’s cut to the chase: This is a moment of serious crisis for our country. The outcome of this election will decide the trajectory of our country—and the world—for the next several decades. I’m not trying to be scary or apocalyptic but this oil lovefest thing we have going on is completely not sustainable, and the situation will not be cured by our wolfing down all resources within easy reach because we couldn’t find a way to live that was better for the planet. What kind of a world do we want our kids (the ones we might have someday if we can afford it), or our family and friends’ kids to grow up in? I’m serious. Bush’s cowboy approach to handling foreign policy has proved stupidly cavalier and crazy costly in terms of both our military resources and cold hard cash. Lots of other countries in the rest of the world, including the people we are trying to buy all this oil from, are not happy with us and they are not going to get any happier if John McCain is elected and continues the policies that got us into the hole we’re in now.

If, for some reason, you fundamentally disagree with me and think that McCain will be able to heal our broken national economy, restructure our energy use so we are not dependent on fast-disappearing resources, provide affordable healthcare to all Americans, sort out the mess we have made in Iraq, deal with Pakistan and Afghanistan in a way that actually secures our safety, and repair our reputation in the eyes of the world...then I think you should vote for him. But stand up and be counted! You will not want to look back twenty, thirty years from now and have to say “I could have helped my country move in a different direction and I chose not to do anything.” Your reasons for supporting Hillary are no doubt deeply held, carefully considered, and emotionally charged. But please recognize the damage you do by laying down your right to vote in the presidential election. Do not let your frustration make a victim out of you.

You’ve probably heard this Gandhi quote: "We must be the change we wish to see." If you feel that Hillary was wronged, that the system screwed her, or that Barack is an inexperienced upstart, you are entitled to your opinion and I will not try to argue you out of it here. But what can you do to make the system better? What can we do to make our politics less sexist, less controlled by the manipulations of mass media and the few puppeteers behind it? Your opinion and ideas are valid and if you silence yourself we will all be poorer because of it. Only you know what frustrates you and what you wish was different about this country. Tell people what you think. Argue for the changes that you want to see.

This, actually, is what I like about Barack Obama enough to have woken up out of my pretty-much-never-watched-the-news-before stupor and engage in this key moment in our political history: Suddenly, because of Barack’s words and example, I feel like the things I say and do actually matter in the political scheme of things. I feel like I can be a part of helping to make this country better, instead of just complaining about what annoys me about America. There have always been things I wished would happen in our country, things that, given the current political climate, sounded so ludicrous and unattainable that I would just get pissed off and basically bang my head against a wall. For example, feeling like there’s no WAY we’re going to get equal pay for women in a country that can deliver the jacked-up Supreme Court ruling we saw last year. Well, now I feel challenged to dream bigger, because Barack had the nerve to do something that seemed just as ludicrous if not more: make a competitive case for his presidency despite his weird name, non-old-boys-club background, and Washington newcomer status, all the while fighting a slew of smear rumors about his un-Americanness. By tuning in and staying tuned in, I feel empowered to hold our politicians and lawmakers accountable for their words and actions. Even just by saying what I think, I can have an impact on those around me. For the first time in my life I realize just how valuable it is that I have a vote to cast.

And let’s talk about how the Republicans have been making serious hay of Barack’s background as a community organizer. This was really not a smart move on their part. You know what a community organizer does? Gets out on the streets and goes to the places where people have been forgotten, those “not so nice” city blocks and overlooked rural towns, and knocks on doors and creates events to wake people up from their apathy and sense of helplessness and get them motivated to take action to improve their own surroundings. The women’s movement, the civil rights movement, and the labor movement were all built by organizers who fought a battle on the ground to get people in power to change the way things were being run. When you piss off community organizers, or, the community of organizers that makes up Barack’s base, you just inspire them (us) to work harder. And to donate $10 million dollars to Barack's campaign, in small contributions, during the 24-hour period following Sarah Palin’s speech last week.

“Change from the ground up” is not an empty slogan, it’s a mission statement. The way the Obama campaign is being run, like an organizing movement, is completely different from how political campaigns are traditionally run in this country, and certainly departs from McCain’s approach. The Obama campaign, operating in all fifty states, has the largest full-time paid staff in the history of American political campaigns—three times the size of the McCain campaign’s staff—with more than 2 million volunteers, most of whom have never worked on a political campaign before in their lives. Barack Obama is not where he is today just because he can make a pretty good speech and tug at people’s heartstrings. He is a very, very smart man, and, as his campaign demonstrates, an excellent administrator. And he has new ideas about how to approach the age-old notion of democracy. Here’s a fresh take: In a democratic nation, everyone should be involved in our collective decision-making, not just those with the biggest pocketbooks or the most connections to those in power.

I support Barack Obama for our next president because I believe his policies are clear-sighted and far-thinking, short on quick fixes, and long on careful planning for the future. I believe he has surrounded himself with smart, capable advisors and partners whose input strengthens and clarifies his own good judgment. I believe that he has the rare gift of being able to listen to people he doesn’t agree with or even like and find ways to incorporate their ideas in order to serve the country’s best interests. I believe, too, that he’s a clever politician, a talented mediator, and tough enough to have not only survived his time in Washington with a clear sense of self but to have forged alliances with some of our most respected leaders on both sides of the aisle. And I believe he will never forget that there are plenty of people out there who are just dying to “put him in his place” and undercut his intelligence, his patience, his faith, and his courage, and that this knowledge will always keep him humble.

So those are my thoughts. And if you’ve just joined the Hope train, please don’t think you have a second-class ticket. Hype is hype, that’s all, and you can always catch the speeches and media clips you missed on youtube should you so desire (I’ve linked to some of my top picks below). There’s nothing anyone can do to reign in the viral spread of internet and mass media buzz around Obama and his impressive rhetoric (though I will say that I am very proud of the fact that, in distinct opposition to McCain, Barack writes his own speeches and books. By himself.) But I'm betting the hype will fade over time; anyone who’s in the Obama camp just to catch a feel-good turn of phrase is going to be in for a real surprise when the guy gets into office and starts shaking things up with an administration that asks every American to do her part. Maybe for you all the hype is a real turnoff, or maybe it just seems like there’s a party going on that you’re not sure you’re invited to. Well, for the record, you’re officially invited to the party on the Hope train, I’m inviting you now, and you don’t have to wear an Obama button if you don’t want to. You should come check it out: www.barackobama.com.



Here are some Obama-related links I recommend:
Barack giving a town hall speech today (Terra Haute, IN: 9/6/08)

Barack’s speech accepting the DNC’s nomination (Denver, CO; 8/28/08)

Barack speaking about the value of community organizing (York, PA; 9/4/08)

Barack’s “A More Perfect Union Speech” (Philadelphia, PA; 3/18/08)

An early version of Barack’s campaign speech (DNC Meeting; Fall 2007)

Barack’s take on the war back in 2002 (TV interview; 11/15/02)

Barack’s youtube favorites page

Barack dancing on the Ellen DeGeneres show (October 2007)

Barack’s keynote speech at the 2004 DNC Convention

“Yes We Can” song by will.i.am (February 2008)