Senator, I love ya. Nobody here is going to doubt that. I considered myself extremely lucky that I got to vote for you once, and now that you're the nominee and I'm going to get a chance to vote for you again, I'm practically beside myself. I'm thrilled.
And I hate to add to the handwringing going on around here (FISA, the public financing of your campaign, etc.) but trust me when I say that I wouldn't do so unless I had a good reason.
This is my good reason.
I was really excited when Keith Ellison became America's first Muslim congressman. It was a great moment of healing -- the kind of moment I expect when you are sworn into our nation's highest office.
Out of the goodness of his heart and out of a fondness for your message of social, racial and religious unity, Ellison stepped forward to speak on your behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He was told by your aides that this rally would not happen. It would be too controversial, they told Ellison.
"I will never forget the quote," Ellison said, leaning forward in his chair as he recalled the aide's words. "He said, 'We have a very tightly wrapped message.'"
A tightly wrapped message?
This is the same Keith Ellison who was publicly harassed by right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck, when Beck asked him to prove to him that he was not working with America's enemies.
He is a pioneer in American politics, and he deserves much better treatment and support than he is getting. You and your campaign should be leading the way by embracing and supporting him, not by holding him and the Islamic community at arm's length.
I know the multiple smears on your name and your religious background have to hurt you both politically and personally -- mainly the latter. But the antidote to the smears will not be found in alienating a religious minority. That's not what your campaign is about to me.
I was willing to give your people the benefit of the doubt when a few of your staffers refused to photograph some women wearing headscarfs. These were simply the actions of overzealous, oversensitive campaign workers who believed they were doing you a favor.
That one-time event could be explained. But this is a speech by a prominent congressman that was supposed to be attended by you. I can't believe that anyone else but you yourself made this call.
This is troubling to me that you made this decision. It sends the wrong message. We Democrats have been playing "defense" on many issues for many years. We have failed to take the lead.
And I'm sure you know that the only way we're going to win is by refusing to be bullied by the right. We can't listen to them when they shout "Muslim terrorist!" or "Jihadi headscarf!" We must instead stand up proudly with Muslim Americans -- be they dark-skinned or light -- and announce that their concerns are our concerns.
Muslim-Americans may not be the most vocal political voice, and they may not be a powerful voting bloc -- as are some other ethnicities and faiths. But that does not make them less important. They cannot be ignored or shunned simply because they are less visible than black voters or Jewish voters or Christian voters -- especially not by a candidate who stands for equality, unity and change.
I hope you'll pardon the drama. You've got my unafraid, uncompromising support. I just think that America's Muslims need to know that they've got yours.
UPDATES/CLARIFICATIONS: I am not suggesting that Obama hold a press conference at a mosque or do a photo-op to make up for anything. I just don't want to see incidents like this repeated, that's all.
And another thing, I disagree completely with the notion that we should just "understand" that Muslims need to be marginalized by the Obama campaign because it would cost him votes. I don't believe it would cost him votes, and he can win this election without excluding Muslims.