Figure of Speech

Thursday night at the local Democratic HQ we had a watch party to see Obama accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. During this event I gave a speech to those in attendance, about 80 people, on our need for them to volunteer, so I figured I might as well get a post out of it, so here you go:

Good Evening everyone, thank you so much for coming tonight to share in this historic moment. It’s incredible to get to see so many of the people we’ve worked with along the way, and even more exciting to get to talk to so many new people.

These fresh faces are going to be the focus of my comments tonight. Allow me an opportunity to apologize up front for any statement that may come off as though I’m preaching to or lecturing to you, I promise you that is not my intention. If this is the case it can be attributed three factors. The first of which is my belief in your ability to affect change. The second is my firsthand knowledge of how rewarding it is to volunteer for this campaign. The last and most vital is the importance of making sure we do absolutely everything within our power and abilities to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States of America.

I am completely sympathetic with what you’re going through. Your heart is telling you that you have to get involved, you have to do something. But your mind keeps getting in the way and discouraging you, telling you that you don’t know enough about politics or that you don’t have the time, or that you’ve never done anything like this before. Well, the truth is folks neither have any of us. We’ve never had a candidate that motivated us to take part. Never in my life, for any candidate, for any office, in any election, have I made a monetary donation, made a phone call, registered a voter, or knocked on a door, but I stand here today having done all of those things, often in other states. I didn’t do this for some dream of a political future or for a line on a resume’, I have done it and keep doing it because I have pledged 100% support for Barack Obama and am scared to death of the consequences should I not do my part. I love that my brother jokes that I’m doing all this work and he’s just going to vote for McCain and cancel out my vote. And he’s right about our votes canceling each other out, but he can’t cancel out my voice, he cant cancel out the number of pro-Obama voters I’ve registered, he cant cancel out the number of voters I’ve personally persuaded off the fence, and while he waivers in his support for McCain he cannot cancel out my faith in Barack Obama.

Maybe what’s holding you back is that you just cannot stomach letting go and investing your entire self into this campaign, for fear of the heartache that comes with losing. And boy do we know about the heartache of losing in Northeast Ohio from our beloved Browns, Cavaliers and Indians. The list of what we’ve endured reads like titles from a horror series, Willie Mays’ “The Catch,” Michael Jordan’s “The Shot,” John Elway’s “The Drive,” Earnest Byner’s “The Fumble,” and the extremely gruesome “Jose Mesa”. I myself cannot live through this kind of heartache and heartbreak again, but here’s the difference: no matter what I did watching, special seat, lucky shirt, morning in church praying, or offering my soul to the devil in the closing seconds, there was absolutely nothing I could do to alter the outcome of those games. I couldn’t come off the bench and make a tackle, couldn’t get the big hit, or block a shot. But in this contest I don’t have to be and more importantly refuse to be a spectator. I am a player and I can say with pride, but without arrogance, on Election Day that I helped change the course of history and saved this country; saved it not just from John McCain and not just from four more years of failed Bush policies, but saved our government and democracy from becoming unrecognizable to our Forefathers and Constitutional Framers.

We know from 2004 just how important Ohio is to winning the White House. And we know how important every vote is. And we know that every door you knock on, every phone call you make, every mind you change, every rumor you refute, every voter you register, every voter you drive to the polls, brings us one step closer to ensuring Ohio is delivered into Barack Obama’s column. And if you help us deliver Ohio for Barack Obama, there is no doubt in my mind we will deliver Barack Obama to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I promise you folks it is so much easier than you think. It’s like anything else unfamiliar, you just have to try it once and your fears are washed away.

I’d like to close by paraphrasing the great American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead….Do you know why you should never doubt in the ability of a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens to change the world?

Because, it is the only thing that ever has!

OH-IO

FIRED UP! READY TO GO!

****Editor's Note Thanks to Ron Severtis who was busy but still found time to help me tweak a few areas.