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Dear President-Elect Barack Obama,
Thank you for your dedication to this country by running for president. The America and the World is a better place for your candidacy and will be a better place with your presidency.
On that note, I have been dismayed and disgusted by recent efforts of Senator McCain's campaign to smear you and to degrade community organizers in general. As a community organizer I find this not only offensive but aimed to further divide the American population through name-calling and pernicious language. Subsequently I have written to Senator McCain regarding my thoughts about his campaign, and will email this letter at another date.
As a strong supporter of your campaign and presidency I have the following suggestion regarding how you should approach tactics taken by the Senator.
1) Hit him back intelligently. Regarding this recent stunt with Governor Palin: she has voted for a number of measures that have been detrimental to the health, safety, and livelihoods of women. The NOW campaign may be a good place to really start researching this. Do not be afraid of hitting her hard on issues of experience, women's rights and livelihoods and her stance on political issues - this itself is a form of sexism. Do not be afraid to call out their campaign on their negative, two-faced, divisive politics.
2) Regarding the community organizer comment, again - call Senator McCain out on his negative and slanderous comments. Community organizers, activists, and people engaged in public service are some of the most avid patriots in this nation. Many such people decide to fore go a higher paying salary, a better job, a more comfortable position because they are passionate about the well-being and livelihood of their fellow Americans. As a UC Berkeley college graduate I choose to make $12 without benefits (25,000 annual vs. $100,000 annual had I done business) working at an urban forestry non-profit that seeks to help low-income residents of West Oakland out of poverty by providing jobs, training, and a more beautiful living environment. I would like to see Senator McCain give up his 7-8 houses, live in a one-bedroom apartment and work as a community organizer. Dr. King, Cesar Chavez, all these great and famous community activists are the greatest patriots in their belief that the American system will recognize their need for change, and in their choice to pursue this change in a constructive way - as opposed to a divisive, violent way. Senator McCain sacrificed for our country by joining the military, but by seeking to further divide the American people by failing to uphold basic decency in his campaign - he is further destroying the fabric of American civil society.
3) Leading the country into a destructive, unplanned war is not patriotism - it is a wanton, wasteful attitude to the lives of American soldiers and in itself seeks to destroy the things we hold most dear: our individual freedoms, our good standing in the world, and our day to day life in America.
4)You are right. You speak a version of the truth. Have faith in this, and directly address the problems with Senator McCain's policies and politics. Address specifics of his stances and their implications. Have faith in the American people to choose the right candidate. Show America why John McCain sucks, and why you rock.
5)You should have chosen Hillary as your VP.
6) Come out to California! Stop ignoring us, we want to see you and hear from you - your offices in California were some of the last to open in the country.
Finally, thank you for hosting this space as a place to hear from your future constituents. Senator McCain certainly does not offer this option.
With warm regards,
Gardens for America
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