Barack Obama's latest fundraising e-mail has come to me as sweet relief - hopefully in more ways than one.
Like many non-citizens who love the United States (I once lived in the U.S. and hope to return one day on at least a semi-permanent basis) I have been fervently hoping for a return to sense and sanity in the Oval Office. I have been fervently hoping for Barack Obama to take the Presidency, and doing what I can to help that come about.
Which isn't much.
Quite rightly and appropriately, non-residents and non-citizens are banned from donating their money and efforts to U.S. political campaigns. And so I have been stuck on the outside... doing what I can to whip up support for Obama and for progressive candidates (while staying involved here at home in Canada) but unable to do what I really want to... to put some money where my mouth is and get behind the candidate.
Until today. Barack Obama's latest fundraising e-mail is a plea to donate to Hurricane Gustav relief efforts, and to donate to the Red Cross. This link is provided in the e-mail to the American Red Cross donation page along with a plea to support them in their relief efforts.
Well, for those of us who want to support the Senator in his bid for the White House, now's your chance to get behind the man and his efforts. Donate to the American Red Cross, or donate to your local Red Cross's fund for 2008 Hurricane relief (Canadians are well-advised for tax reasons to donate to the Canadian Red Cross here : http://www.redcross.ca/... and don't forget to specify 2008 Hurricane Relief as the destination for your donation.)
I'm proud to say that Sen. Obama's plea just raised $500 from me for the Canadian Red Cross's efforts at Hurricane Relief this year. (Funds will go to Red Cross relief efforts in the Gulf Coast area as well as in the Caribbean). It's only the next best thing to a campaign contribution, but for us, it's as good as I'm going to get. Let's get behind Barack Obama and show our compassion for the Gulf Coast again as we did three years ago.