I am writing to you to tell you about a man that I have over the past few months come to trust, admire and ultimately work for. That man is Sen. Barack Obama.
At first, for one reason or another, you might want to shy away, his name may raise an eyebrow, his views may conflict with your own, but I write to tell you that he is the man we should be looking to for leadership in the White House. He has brought a fresh new approach to how we can view the government. He has taken steps to making our government more "transparent," as he calls it, by allowing us to search through government documents like the national budget with a Google-like search engine. He, unlike his opponents both Republican and Democrat, believe that honesty, integrity and accountability are important characteristics for a strong government and a strong country. We see this as we reach the tail end of the current administration that it is more important than ever to the health and stability of our great nation.
He has already taken steps in his early campaign to keep accountability an important factor, by publicly refusing donations from lobbyists, interest groups, political action committees, and has focused all his fundraising at the grassroots level. The really astonishing thing about this is that we have kept head to head with Senator Clinton the whole way, even surpassing her, just through small private donations! More than 370,000 donors have raised more than $80 million for the campaign thus far, and in the past week alone more than 27,000 individuals raised more than a half million dollars to allow the senator to gain an extra day of campaigning in Iowa where he doesn't have to be on the road fundraising. That really says a lot about the collective mood of the country - we want change.
As a resident of Warsaw, I see around me people who crave change, who no longer want to work harder each year for less money, who want to feel secure in retirement, who don't want to have to worry about getting sick or having to make the tough decision to skip college because they can't afford it. Senator Obama could make huge positive changes for the people of our fair city! For those of you with Internet access, type the following URL into your browser to watch the speech he gave at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner in Iowa that many say was the turning point of his career, it sums him up quite well! The URL is www.youtube.com/watch?v=tydfsfSQiYc
People sometimes criticize the Senator because of what they call his "lack of experience," but he likes to respond by saying that some of the people in this current administration have some of the longest resumes in Washington, and look where that has got us! The most important thing to remember is that no one has experience being president their first term. Whether you have spent three years in Washington or 30, nothing can prepare you.
Before you turn the page or skip to the next letter, I encourage you to visit www.barackobama.com and check out where he stands on the issues, watch some videos of his speeches (his passion on stage will blow you away). I recommend watching the speech he gave on religion in politics, anyone of faith will be moved by the end. Explore the site, learn about hot issues and discuss them on a message board. Come to know the man who has recently gained the lead in the polls in Iowa, earning a four-point lead over the "sure thing" candidate.
Learn as we have that Sen. Obama is bringing morality back to politics and the people back to the table. Let him inspire you as he has inspired us. If, after all that, you find yourself wanting to take action and would like to help Sen. Obama finance his campaign through the final push to Jan. 3, please go to my.barackobama.com/joshuabartman to make a $10 donation and help me reach my $1,000 pledge to the Obama campaign. It's set up by the Obama campaign so you know it's safe, secure and friendly. None of that money goes to me. It all goes directly to the senator's campaign.
I also encourage the readers to submit a letter to the editor explaining why they think the candidate they support would be the best man or woman for the job so the people of Warsaw can make an informed decision next November. Thank you for your time.
