About Me:
Hi. My name is Craig. As an avid Obama supporter, I have set up this profile to give other supporters new ideas and simple things that they can say and do that could really make a difference to help Obama win. You know, when Barack started his campaign run, he had far less supporters than Hillary. But the one thing that I believe was the single biggest reason why he is now ahead of Hillary is the proactive and enthusiastic role that the Obama supporters have taken to spread the word and to make a difference. I hope that what I present here--simple things that we can say and do--will inspire even more supporters to get proactive, so that we will see him through to the day when he will raise his hand and take that oath to which all other presidents have taken before him, beginning with the words: "I do solemnly swear..."

Note: This is a work in progress, so check back often. And if you have any good ideas that I can add to this profile, please let me know!

THINGS YOU CAN SAY:

If someone says Barack is too inexperienced:
Barack has more experience than Hillary, 11 years as a senator to Hillary's 7. (Yes! It's true! See below for more details.)

If someone says he is too young:
When inaugurated in 2009, Barack will be older than Bill Clinton when he was first inaugurated as president.

If someone thinks he is unoriginal and plagiarizes others:
Unlike most politicians, Barack writes almost all of his speeches. They are his own words, and the words that he was accused of plagiarizing were actually his friend's, who suggested that he should use them.

If you know any John Edwards supporters:
John Edwards has a much better chance of becoming vice president if Barack is elected than Hillary.

If you know any senior citizens (or about to be):
As president, Obama intends to eliminate the income tax for the seniors in this country.

If someone has concerns that he may have racial ties:
Barack is in a position where it is virtually impossible not to be associated with people that may racial issues of some sort or another. Just because he may have one or two friends that may have yet to overcome attitudes of anger and resentment towards certain people, does not mean that he is guilty by association. One of the great things about Barack--and why he truly could unite this country in so many different ways--is that even if he doesn't agree with a person's viewpoint, he will still accept that person as a friend and not abandon him just because it makes him look bad. (Well, unless that person is trying to make him look bad.)

The following goes into more details of what was just said, plus has other interesting information about Obama:

EXPERIENCE:

Many people who support Hillary believe that she has more experience than Barack. While it is true that being in the White House for 8 years could be helpful, the fact is that in terms of holding publicly-elected offices, Barack has more experience than Hillary. He served in the Illinois State Senate for 8 years, and 3 years thus far as a US Senator. He has a total of 11 years of congressional experience, while Hillary only has 7.

AGE:

Some people think he is too young. The fact is, if inaugurated on January 20th, 2009, he will be older than Bill Clinton when he was first inaugurated as President.

DYNASTIES:

This is not supposed to be a country of dynasties, which was why George Washington left office after 8 years, despite many people’s protests. By the end of George W. Bush’s term in office next year, we will have had two families running this country for the last 20 years, and if Hillary were elected, that could be extended to as much as 28 years, almost a full generation.

BEATING McCAIN:

Another good reason to vote for Barack, is that polls have suggested that Barack would have a much more likely chance of beating John McCain, the likely Republican candidate, than Hillary Clinton. Why? Because Hillary has more “negatives” (people who don’t like a candidate, and could potentially cross over and vote for the other party) than either McCain or Obama. According to a CNN poll conducted recently, 41% of the public say they don’t like Hillary, while 36% say this about McCain, and only 31% say this about Obama. I think another big reason has to do with Obama’s call to unity, and his desire to work with all people. Because of this, Obama is more favored than Hillary among independents as well as among a growing number of Republicans, or "Obamacans," as they are now being called. (Remember the ad where Hillary attacked Obama for saying that even the Republicans had some good ideas?) Click here to read CNN’s full story.

ORIGINALITY:

Recently, when Obama was responding to continued attacks that his words are just empty rhetoric, he used examples from history to show how the power of words can have a great influence, citing phrases like “I have a dream” and “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” After he said this, the Clinton camp accused him of plagiarism, and posted a video on YouTube to show the similarities between what he said, and a speech from the man he supposedly plagiarized them from: Barack’s good friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. When Deval was asked about this, he said that they often share ideas together, and he applauded him for responding to Clinton’s attacks in just the way he did. The fact is, Hillary was using one of the oldest dirty tricks in the books: Wrongly accuse someone of something, and by the time it is found out that it is false, the damage has already been done: Some people will have already started to see this person in a negative way that is inaccurate. She was trying to put him in a box and to make him look like he was unoriginal and that he had to borrow his words from everybody. The fact is, Barack writes most of his own speeches, which is more than what most politicians can say. But he is also not afraid to listen to others and to use good ideas that other people have to offer. The sharing of ideas is what has made this country great, not the hoarding of them.

ATTACK MENTALITY:

Speaking of attack, I don’t think our country needs another president that attacks the moment that there is a threat. Do you? That is exactly what Hillary has done ever since Barack won in Iowa, when he became a real threat. Some say that is “just politics,” and the way that it is. Well, I don’t agree. That is how Washington has been run for way too long now. We continue to be divided as a country. Our national debt is increasing more and more due to our attacks on other countries. And because of this, the threat of terrorist attacks upon our country continues to increase. If we continue to attack every perceived threat, things will continue to get worse and worse for us. If we are going to make real changes in this country, we need someone who isn't so prone to attacking, and is willing to talk with our "enemies" and to mend fences. We need a president that can unite this country, not divide it even further…which is what Hillary started to do to her own party because of her attacks on Obama, causing rifts amongst many of the most loyal and prominent members of her party. So I must ask you this: Do you honestly think that if she can’t create unity within her own party, that she will be able to do it with our country?

OBAMA IS THE STRONGER CANDIDATE:

In the month between Super Tuesday and the primaries on March 4th, Barack went on a roll, winning 8 states in a row, plus our nation's capital, Washington D.C., with 75% of the vote, and the US Virgin Islands as well, winning over 90% of the vote there. He also won in the Democrats Abroad global primary, where over 20,000 U.S. citizens living abroad in 164 different countries voted over 65% in favor of Obama, which put his winning streak to 11 in a row leading up to the March 4th primaries. And he won almost all of these contests by a much larger margin than was expected, consistently outperforming the polls, which I believe is an indication that he is gaining more and more momentum and public support. In fact, in all of these 11 contests, his smallest margin of victory was 17 points, which he won in Wisconsin, where the polls had showed him in a statistical tie the day before the contest. I think that when people finally get to see him in person and to hear him talk, they are truly inspired by his genuine sincerity and his message of hope.

Since then, we have had the crucial March 4th primaries, where Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont voted. Because the press has claimed a victory for Hillary Clinton in the two biggest states of Texas and Ohio, she is portraying it as a great comeback and a turnaround in her campaign. The fact is, because the contests were so close, she really didn't cut into Barack's lead very much at all, and it actually looks like Barack has won Texas, according to the most recent CNN projections of their caucus results. All in all, March 4th gave Hillary about a 10 delgate gain, cutting Obama's lead for pledged delegates from about 150 to 140. And since winning substantially in both Wyoming and Mississippi, her gain has been eliminated.
LATEST UPDATE: As of May 3rd, according to CNN.com, Barack has a 159 hard delegate lead, even after her win in Pennsylvania, where she had only gained about 10 delegates.

JOHN EDWARDS AS VP:

Though what I am about to say may only be speculation, I would say that John Edwards would have a much more likely chance of becoming Vice President if Obama were the Democratic nominee than if Hillary were the nominee. Why? There are two obvious reasons for this: One, Barack’s policies and ideas are much more in line with John Edwards’ than with Hillary’s policies. And two, with the way Hillary has been constantly attacking Barack—well would you pick her if you were in his shoes? If, on the other hand, Hillary becomes the nominee, I would expect that she—being the “whatever it takes” kind of politician that she is—would smooth things over with a plastic smile and a quick wave of her hand, and pick Barack since he is the more popular candidate, and would be her best (and perhaps only) chance of beating McCain. If you know any John Edwards supporters, I strongly urge you to bring up these points to them, should they have any questions at all about who they should vote for. NOTE: Since I have written this, Hillary and Bill Clinton have already started to hint at this by trying to downplay Obama's lead, saying that it would be an "unbeatable" ticket if Hillary were to run with Obama as her running mate.

ELIMINATING SENIOR INCOME TAX:

Here is an interesting factoid that I am surprised Obama doesn't talk about more, since the older age groups are his least supportive voting segment of the population: Barack intends to eliminate all income taxes for senior citizens making less than $50,000 per year. I think it is a great idea for the older people of our country in lower income brackets to help them in the uncertain times of our weakened Social Security System. If you know anybody in this age category (or who will be in the next few years), you should let them know about this, especially if they are undecided or are for Hillary Clinton. If you wish to view all of the details of how he intends to help the senior citizens of our country, please click on this link:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/socialsecurity

RACIAL TIES:

The fact is, racism in one form or another is still prevalent in our country, and it is not just one race that is at fault. Barack is in a position where it is virtually impossible not to be associated with people who may still harbor negative attitudes toward people of different skin color. In regards to his former pastor and good friend, it is a great testament to Barack that he didn't take the textbook political path of alienating him right from the onset because it might hurt his campaign. Instead, he made it clear that he didn't agree with his words and called them divisive, while still acknowledging him as his friend. EVEN WHEN RACIST OR SEPARATIST ATTITUDES ARE PREVALENT AMONGST SOME PEOPLE IN HIS LIFE, THOUGH HE MAY NOT AGREE WITH THEM, HE STILL ACCEPTS THESE PEOPLE AND LOVES THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE. Instead of abandoning this man, as most politicians would have done, he took the very delicate issue of racism in our country and addressed it head on. That, in my opinion, shows to me that he has the makings of what it takes to be a great president.

Recently, his former pastor went on a "spewing spree" that looked like he was intentionally trying to make Barack look bad. Even though Obama respects other people's truths, and will not let that be a reason for separating himself from others, there does come a point where one has to say, "Enough is enough."

And even though he finally cut ties with someone who seemed to be trying to deliberately hurt him, And even though he finally cut ties with someone who seemed to be trying to deliberately hurt him, he still is someone who respects all different types of people, regardless of their differing beliefs, and is still willing to be their friend. Because of this, I believe he could be the ideal person, as president of the United States, to bridge the gap on the racial divide--a divide that has been created on both sides of the fence, from racial and supremist attitudes on the one side, to resentment and anger that has led to isolation and separation on the other. It is precisely that attitude of love and allowance that Barack has that can heal our country of many divisions: not only of race, but of gender, sexism, political and religious differences, as well as many others. He is the one who can help bring unity to this country--racially, religiously, and politically...
One of the most impressive things that I have ever heard him say, comes almost casually, hidden in the middle of one of his paragraphs on page 68 of his book, The Audacity of Hope, and I think it best personifies the kind of person that Barack really is. Talking about people's differing perspectives, he says: "...I am obliged to try to see the world through George Bush's eyes, no matter how much I may disagree with him."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are actually many other reasons I could give as to why I believe that Barack would be the best president for our country, but I think the greatest one for me is simply his genuine sincerity, and the message of hope and unity that he inspires in millions of people. I so strongly believe that we need a president that can work with all people, Republicans and Democrats alike. Even though some people might think what I am about to say sounds like just empty rhetoric, I truly believe that genuine inspiration is the greatest single thing that a president can instill in a country, because if the people themselves can be inspired to have hope, and to live with such a bright outlook on life, then it will forever change them and the world that they live in…

I hope that these words have inspired you. If they have, please use them in any way you wish: Share them, change them, build upon them, publish them, and plagiarize them…do with them whatever inspires you.

Together, we can make a difference…YES WE CAN!!!

Yes we can!

Yes We Can International:

Barack Obama on Iraq

"When you walk away, the same old politics wins everytime..."