I just received from the Obama campaign an e-mail that was unusually inspiring, and thus very characteristic; it asked, in part:
Our work so far has taught us one important lesson: that your personal story about why you support Barack Obama is often the most powerful persuasion tool for someone who's undecided. That's true whether that undecided voter is your neighbor or a superdelegate.
The story of where you're from, what brought you into the political process, the issues that matter to you, and why you became part of this movement has the potential to inspire someone who could cast a deciding vote in this contest. ...
Share your story to help persuade superdelegates now:
http://my.barackobama.com/...
I've received a lot of email from folks asking how best to help with the superdelegate effort, and this is it.
Although they of course also asked for money, by this appeal for personal narratives Obama is employing the very ideals he professes: faith in the people at large to move mountains. Genuinely inspired, I wrote the following.
My name is Doug Drenkow, and I am a professional in the field of communications. (http://www.douglasdrenkow.com)
My late father and mother came from farms in the Midwest. They were New Deal Democrats. My father grew up very poor in the Depression and instilled in me a respect for the hard-working blue-collar families who built this country. My mother was a faithful Roman Catholic who taught me that we are all the children of God, and that God is love.
I was born in the 1950s but my earliest memories were of growing up in the 1960s. As a Baby Boomer, I was the first of the "television generations." As such, I saw with my own two eyes not only the black-and-white dramas and colorful comedies televised from Hollywood but also far more of what was really going on in the world than any previous generation ever had.
I was witness to the dramatic events that turned the course of history: the never-ending bloodbath in Vietnam, the ever-present threat of a Cold War going nuclear, the proud persistence of the civil rights movements, the compassionate beginnings of Medicare, the landing of human beings on the moon ... and the assassinations of the leaders whose vision and determination appealed to the better angels of our nature and moved us to do great things, which we could only do together as one nation.
Since then, I have sadly witnessed the division of our nation, a victim mostly of the cynicism that plagues a people who were betrayed by their leaders, in Vietnam, Watergate, and countless other scandals at home and misadventures overseas. National unity -- and the sense of common purpose that brought us to achieve great things -- fell victim to greed and other selfish interests, ultimately and ironically self-defeating.
With another seemingly never-ending war overseas and now fiscal irresponsibility at home on an unprecedented scale, enriching the few at the expense of the many, including our national treasury, America needs a change in direction, a new breed of leader, who will lead us to a better future -- a future we cannot arrive at by following the leadership we have had.
Because Senator Barack Obama had the clear vision and good judgment to oppose this terrible and terribly unnecessary war from the very beginning, because he has pragmatic plans to meet the needs of our people at home, and because he impresses me on a very personal level -- based upon the good leaders I have seen, who asked us to work together as a people to achieve what had seemed impossible before -- I heartily support Sen. Obama in his campaign to become our next president. I believe him to be the leader we need.