Who is Barack Obama?
We all know well the viral videos and emails that willfully distort Senator Obama's background and record and malign his patriotism. A number of responses have emerged on YouTube and elsewhere to try to set the record straight, but most of them attend to only one issue at a time: either the Pledge of Allegiance okey-doke or the lapel pin brouhaha, but rarely both.
This clip by rorchik covers many bases and drops a beat to boot. Check it out below the fold, and please distribute it widely.
The video is useful for a number of reasons:
- It lists and describes a number of Obama's important legislative achievements in the US Senate: Feingold-Obama, Lugar-Obama, Coburn-Obama, etc.;
- It addresses his opposition to the Iraq War and his leadership in caring for wounded soldiers;
- It shows Obama leading the Senate in the Pledge of Allegiance -- and singing the National Anthem;
- It advertises the fact that Obama has raised incredible, unprecedented amounts of money from small donors -- while still refusing to accept donations from federal lobbyists and PACs (unlike Clinton or McCain); and
- It features Obama taking on the politics of fear.
My favorite line:
Who is Barack Obama? A talented political leader who believes that patriotism is about action... not accessories.
Please distribute the video as widely as possible. Unhelpful soundbites of Jeremiah Wright's sermons seem to be popping up all over the place, and we need to keep it real.
Respect. Empower. Include.
Obama '08