I'm A Political Contributor

Last night I searched, until the wee hours of the morning, for Barack Obama's acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for president. It took forever. Late into the night, I lucked out as BarackObamadotcom posted the video on YouTube.

Obama is, in my sometimes humble opinion, one of the greatest inspirational political figures in my memory. His speeches always seem to reach for the stars, and bring hope to many people that might otherwise feel a little disenfranchised. Last night was different. Last night Barack came out with all guns firing. He took on McCain and the Bush administration like no Democrat I've seen. His speech was almost reminiscent of one from the movie American President starring Michael Douglas and written by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. Douglas played President Andrew Shepherd who was a widower, who found himself on shaky political ground as he started to date a liberal political bigwig, played by Annette Bening. The Republican candidate for president Bob Rumson, played by Richard Dreyfuss, attacked Shepherd left and right for his actions in his private life. Until the climax of the movie where Shepherd gave a speech that changed the debate. Here is the speech:

For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. For the record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, folks, then you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a few hours ago. America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free". I've known Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it! We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. And wave an old photo of the President's girlfriend and you scream about patriotism and you tell them, she's to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore. Sydney Ellen Wade has done nothing to you, Bob. She has done nothing but put herself through school, represent the interests of public school teachers, and lobby for the safety of our natural resources. You want a character debate, Bob? You better stick with me, 'cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out of your league. I've loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer, and I lost the other 'cause I was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job. Well, that ends right now. Tomorrow morning, the White House is sending a bill to Congress for its consideration. It's White House Resolution 455, an energy bill requiring a 20 percent reduction of the emission of fossil fuels over the next ten years. It is by far the most aggressive stride ever taken in the fight to reverse the effects of global warming. The other piece of legislation is the crime bill. As of today, it no longer exists. I'm throwing it out. I'm throwing it out writing a law that makes sense. You cannot address crime prevention without getting rid of assault weapons and handguns. I consider them a threat to national security, and I will go door to door if I have to, but I'm gonna convince Americans that I'm right, and I'm gonna get the guns. We've got serious problems, and we need serious people, and if you want to talk about character, Bob, you'd better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up. This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I *am* the President.

Read it if you want to, I just wanted to post it.

Last night I became inspired in a different way. I became convinced that Obama can lead this nation in the right direction.

Today I became a political contributor. Like over 2 million other citizens who have contributed small amounts to the Obama campaign, I gave $15. I'm not a rich guy, so that's about all I could afford.

I pray this country is smart enough to look past it's own reservations, and elect the best candidate for the top office in the land.

+++++++++++watch this on YouTube+++++++++++++++++++