Thirty Minutes of Obama Just Six Days Until the Election

Some pundits are claiming that Obama has purchased this time because he has too much money. Ron Popeil, the king of the “infomercial” thinks that Obama will be able to keep our attention for thirty minutes. As the McCain campaign spews out venom of the most horrendous kind—dvds that try to brand Obama as all hype, a socialist, a danger.

Obama has avoided the negative, focusing on issues not on attacking character.

Now he begins: Our problems are long-lasting, not just the result of the last eight years. What is real and lasting change? What will Obama do to restore the long term health of our economy?

What is our resolve to change this country? Rebecca, a mother, with an awful lot of children, lives in a Missouri suburb. Her husband is in need of an operation, but he can’t do it now, because the disability won’t be enough for the family to live on. She labels snacks so that her kids don’t eat too much. They are obsessed with making ends meet. There was a time when she didn’t have to worry about this stuff.

An economy that honors the dignity of work—when was the last time we heard work described that way?

Rescue plan for the middle class: cut taxes, business tax credit for hiring, eliminate tax breaks for sending jobs abroad, low cost loans for small businesses. This will grow the economy, right now, to restore fairness.

Workers earn their pensions. Americans don’t expect government to solve all of their problems, they want to retire with some dignity.

Common sense Midwestern sensibility, that’s what Obama brings to problem solving.

The retired couple in Ohio, who have lived in their home for ten years, work they did themselves. They have grown children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Their medical bills have been rising—twelve medications per day for her. She doesn’t have medical insurance after he retired. To meet payments, they have taken equity out of their house. He now has to go back to work to meet their financial challenges. He is 72 years old and still working, because her hands are so gnarled from arthritis. This is heartbreaking. We all know too many people who haven't been able to retire because they can't afford to rest.

We have to do something about health care and jobs. First, let’s start with energy independence. Invest in alternative fuels and energy efficiency. Help auto companies retool and to help make these new cars affordable. Tap natural gas, clean coal, but call on everyone to conserve energy.

Spending cuts for government, too, not just for individuals.

We must change our policies in Iraq. We are spending more in Iraq now than we did in the beginning of the war. We need to invest this money in America, not in Iraq. Most innovation comes from small business. Exxon and Mobile doesn’t need government help. Small business does.

Juliana Sanchez is a widow. She has devoted her life to her kids. They live in New Mexico. She works at a school for at risk kids. Juliana has a second job, caring for a special needs child. She takes teacher training classes, and is raising her own children. “I feel like I can’t breathe even though I have to breathe.”

No education policy can replace an involved parent.

Obama was shaped more by his father’s absence than by his presence.

Obama sees education as a moral obligation. So do I.

We can create schools that work. Rigorous school reform can make schools work again. Scholarships to college can be geared to public service.

Health care, lower costs through technology. His mother died quickly from cancer. It was heartbreaking to go on that lonely path of illness and death. It taught me to seize the moment.

I want to do something about it. Which reminds me of my friend Vanessa’s sermon “someone oughta.” We oughta, with Obama as our leader.

Quality of Obama that is different: clear leader, immediate impact, changed the rules, works across party lines.

Third generation Ford employee: manufacturing jobs bought the American dream. Mark and Melinda, with cut hours, are now struggling to make ends meet. Their fathers got full retirement. Melinda was laid off. How will they survive?

We have to defend liberty. I will rebuild our military, renew direct diplomacy, refocus fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. These are sons and husbands who are fighting, we can’t forget that. How he thinks about war and peace: approaches these rationally.

We all have stories about coming from another country, working in a coal mine, in a factory: someday my child or grandchild will have a home.

Will Obama be able to heal this country? There are unusual good sides of this man that we need in this country now.

I will always tell you what I think and where we stand. I will listen to you when we disagree. I will ask you to be involved in your own democracy again.

Live from Florida: in six days, we can choose an economy that grows, we can choose to invest in health care and education for our kids, hope over fear, unity over division, change over status quo. One nation, one people. That’s what’s at stake.

In this last week, knock on some doors for me, make some calls for me, stand by my side. We will win this election and together we will change this country and we will change the world.