My Mexico City Trip

Behind the Scenes at the Acceptance Speech

Did you get to go to Chicago to see Barack's acceptance speech? Were you hanging out with them in their hotel room before the event? Would you like a little behind the scenes peak at the event?

Then check this out......

http://flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157608716313371/show/

My thanks to my friend Lamont.

A Rising Star in our Midst

There are over a million active supporters of the Barack Obama campaign. At least that’s how many people are a part of the interactive community-based website mybarackobama.com. Among those people are men and women with very unique talents, and every once in a while, one rises above the crowd. I was lucky enough to have found one. Her name is Stacy Beyer.

Ms. Beyer is a huge player in the Nashville music scene. In addition to performing for the purpose of celebrating the hope and promise of the Obama campaign, Stacy is very heavily involved in Nashville’s vibrant Jewish community and writes and performs Jewish oriented music for the purpose of enhancing and promoting the enjoyment and appreciation of Jewish music.

I am very certain that Stacy Beyer’s star is on the rise. Please give a listen and a look to this wonderful video and be a part of something great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN_NNZyh43s

Feels Good, Huh?

This is an email blast that I sent out to my team today. It's been one hell of an experience, and really the time of my life. For anyone outside of CD12, which is the northern half of the San Francisco Peninsula, it has been my privilege and pleasure to have met and worked with each and every one of you.

For those of you who came to one of our meetings, registered people to vote, canvassed a neighborhood or provided any other kind of infrastructure or input to our family here at CD12, I would like to acknowledge your participation and congratulate you on a job well done. Frankly, there is no Barack Obama presidency without each and every one of you.

I know I speak for April Vargas, Mary Twieg, Mary Kunitake and all of our incredible support staff when I tell you that in addition to your hard work and amazing contribution to this campaign, the friendships we have developed with you and the laughter and the grimaces that we’ve shared with you are permanently etched into our hearts and our memories.

Some of you spent your time in our South City office. Many of you didn’t come on board until we moved into our office in San Carlos. Some of you even split your time between either the San Francisco office or the Silicon Valley office. Most of you tirelessly cajoled your friends, families and co-workers to come on board the Obama bandwagon, even if they originally looked at you like you were from another planet.

So this is definitely not goodbye. As a matter of fact, just the contrary. If getting involved and being involved has gotten into your blood, like it has mine, and you feel like it’s feels pretty damned good to actually make a difference in your community, your state and your country, don’t become complacent. We have really just begun. There will be other races, new candidates or causes and old issues that will become deserving of your time and effort. You can take what you’ve learned and apply it to the next campaign.

Many of us are not completely satisfied with this election. Prop 8 didn’t lose. Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Michele Bachmann won and Al Franken didn’t. But we inched ever closer to betters days in this country, and the election of Barack Obama wasn’t just historic; it was vindication for all of us taking a stand and standing tall and proudly for fairness, equality, the end to war and the hope of a new kind of leadership.

So our offices will or have closed, but the enthusiasm and excitement that we’ve all shared will continue to burn brightly and strongly, and our paths will cross again, and yes, we’ll take a moment to chuckle and reminisce, and then we’ll dig into whatever our next project will be and work together to once again attempt to make it a better and happier day for ourselves, our families and our entire communities.

It was an absolute honor to be a city leader, a precinct captain, a precinct specialist, an Obama delegate and ultimately CD12 volunteer coordinator, and though I will hang up my virtual uniform and have to find something equally useful to do with my very rare spare time, I will smile to myself every now and then knowing what we all did together and realizing that we all did something that was right, and that we were rewarded for once with the culmination of a job well done and a candidate that actually won this time.

All the best to you! Yes, we did!!

Mark Brickman

When Campaigning is in Your Blood

Welcome to the BA meeting, Barack Anonymous. I'm Mark (Hi, Mark.) And I'm addicted to the Obama campaign (groans!). No, it's true. I swear! I have been living and breathing this campaign, and with three days left, I'm not at the Obama office, and it's killing me. I will be there later and work well into the night, but I have a bi-yearly commitment and today is the day. I know I'll survive, but I'm in pain. Just sneaking on to a computer that I found here to write this is a little solace, but I must be with my compadres at the Obama office.

Oh, no...I just thought of something else. What am I going to do on Wednesday? Can I find a BA meeting anywhere? I doubt it. How will I see my Obama friends? Just pop up at their front doors and ask them if I can use their phone to call New Mexico? No, that won't work. Oh, I know...we'll all meet for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, or even Chinese. Yeah, that's the ticket. Oh, and I feel so positive that we'll have something really good to celebrate.

Does anyone else out there in Obamaland not know what they're going to be doing after this campaign? Oh, well. I'll think of something.

Not a Time for Gridlock

This is not your ordinary election. It is a time of crisis in this country. The economy is in a shambles. We have troops fighting and dying on two fronts. We have witnessed a campaign that has opened a nasty wound of racism and hatred. We have seen numerous prominent political leaders violating ethics rules at best and heading off to jail at worst. We have just lived through a political regime that over the past eight years has been conducted like a monarchy.

I have always generally subscribed to the theory put forth by one of my favorite talk show hosts, Ronn Owens, in San Francisco -- who even wrote an excellent book outlining it -- that gridlock was one good way to keep the president and Congress in check and not have too radical a shift to the left or right come out of Washington. But this is not a time that I want the status quo and I for certain don’t want to have business as usual. Not now.

It is a given that John McCain, if elected, will offer a continuation of if not the exact political perspectives on governing this country as George Bush, will definitely offer the same divisive and toxic climate that has persisted in this country for the past eight years. I for one cannot live in that type of climate any longer, and an Obama-Biden Administration will offer a new way of governing, a fresh start, and we must have a filibuster proof Senate of sixty senators to essentially clean house in this country. I am placing my trust in the new leadership of Barack Obama and the old guard Democrats to step up and establish some new direction for this country.

There may be a time when I wish to go back to a little gridlock, but right now, this country needs a fresh start, a new beginning, and Barack and Joe are my guys. I believe that this country will be all right with 58 Democratic senators, because there are a few moderate Republicans who tend to vote with Democrats on many issues, but I will have a lot of difficulty – no. I absolutely cannot stomach John McCain and Sarah Palin in my White House.

We have exactly one week until the most historic election of our lifetime. Let’s do everything we can to make absolutely certain that Barack Obama becomes our next president. Let’s not leave anything on the table. Let’s have no regrets or say, “Damn, I could have done more.” Our time is now! Let’s get everyone to the polls to vote early and let’s allow this country to heal. Let’s remain fired up till Tuesday, November 4th and let’s give Barack the victory that we all deserve.

Brilliant Video

My cousin Shelley is always sending me great stuff. Today was no exception. This is absolutely outstanding. Click on the link and be entertained. There is one thing that is a sure bet...the funniest things are also the things that are true.

Thank you, Shelley. And thank you, John McCain, for constantly reminding us that you and Sarah Palin are not the better choice for our next four years in this country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fcGelz8Hw