Why I'm Endorsing Barack Obama

The question I have been asking myself and others during my entire life in public policy and throughout this 2008 presidential Campaign -- the question which tens of millions of women and men have also been asking -- is how do we best bring America together in shared purpose, prosperity and, especially, equality.

Those of us who until last week worked for Senator John Edwards to become president were always fighting for something bigger than any of us and bigger than all of us. We were also part of a movement with the objective, John's objective, of lifting up all Americans.

John Edwards is not going to be president, and so what we who were helping him must do is now elect the individual who has deep in his core John's principles and vision for this country. And so today, with every passion and enthusiasm I have, I am endorsing Senator Barack Obama to be president of the United States

Barack Obama is also calling our nation to the greatness that we all want but that we're uncertain we can still achieve. Others talk about greatness and they even say all the right words, but they do not bring those words to life. Their words do not grab us by the arms and pull us along together.

Barack Obama, like John Edwards, is redefining what is possible and in so doing he's changing us, each one of us.

Many who had given up on politics are re-engaging. Many who had grown tolerant of the intolerable are now ready to demand more ­ and not just from themselves but others. And many who had given up believing that the ideals of equality, dignity and justice would ever again be as politically important as money and power, now believe again.

And this too is why I'm endorsing Senator Barack Obama.

Barack and John Edwards were different candidates, with different backgrounds and life experiences, but all these many months and really throughout their lives, they have been on a common path.

Both are focused on changing our politics, both are committed to shaking the foundation of the Washington establishment, and both are profound voices for what our country should and can be.

When I endorsed John Edwards for president, I did so because I was confident he would help lift women out of poverty and protect a woman's right to make her own decisions about if or when to have a family. I was confident that if John were in the White House, the single mother, who was working two jobs, living paycheck to paycheck, and worried about health care and child care, would have more influence than the well-healed corporate CEO armed with a team of lobbyists.

And when I endorsed John Edwards I also knew that Barack Obama shared every one of these concerns, and over the course of Barack's own campaign, the nation has come to believe in him just like I always have as well.

Senator Obama is not just prepared to lead ­ as our beloved Teddy and Caroline Kennedy have said, he is prepared to lead in a way different than we have seen for decades. Not out in front with us behind him, but rather with us beside him.

And that difference is all the difference. That difference separates just any president from a great president; and right now, we need a great president.

Barack Obama will be that great president. He will bring us all together. And together, we will change our country.

During these past many years, we have lost the sense of what we could do together, who we could be, what was possible.

That's changing.

And Barack Obama is the one changing that.

With him, greatness is again within reach.

-- Kate Michelman, Former President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

Comments

[ksyellowdog]

Thanks Kate, it helps when someone of your stature makes the leap. I just wish Obama would embrace single payer universal healthcare, that is my only reservation about Barack.

[PhyloSeFiser]

The momentum is so clear. I only hope there's time to keep it going.

Check out this video.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=27104214

No one else inspires people like this.

[lhaz]

Well, I'm not surprised. Michaelman is a white, college educated, affluent woman. We know they support Obama. It's the rest of us that need someone to speak for us because according to the polls and the MSM, we are low class and uneducated.

[jackpinesavage]

Wonderful post.

Sen. Obama is not going to save our nation. But every day, i believe more and more that he can bring people to believe in ourselves again. We do need a great president, because great presidents bring out the greatness in the American people.

[RusStyles]

Great endorsement! It takes true objectivity for women in leadership positions to support Obama. It also speaks volumes for the junior senator!

[vbond]

Kate,

Yours is one of the four or five most important endorsements of this nomination season.

It is so because it clearly and compellingly reaffirms Barack Obama's commitment to choice, and because it confirms for so many what so many have seen: that Obama is the legitimate heir to the dream - and all of its possibilities - and the reality - with all of its challenges - of the Kennedy legacy.

You have beautifully articulated the core truth of an Obama Presidency, which is that its success truly depends not on him, but - because of his commitment and ability - on US.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now, please call John.

[jane1]

How EXACTLY is he going to "bring us all together"? What kind of fantasy land do you people actually live in? We will be completely ripped apart when the media finally turns on Obama, and turn they will. How will he ACTUALLY "lift women out of poverty"? Nothing will change because he won't even get elected. So, good luck with all of that when John McCain is in the oval office. Have you forgotten what the economy looked like during the Clinton years? This election will turn so ugly and certainly the "moderates" will NOT chose Obama over McCain. Karl Rove and company will have Obama looking like nothing more than an empty slogan, inexperienced, third rate thug, believe me. The media is bored with the Clintons, the right wing is out of material to attack them with. The attack machine is waiting in the wings for Obama, they will come out fully armed and can't wait for this. I see now why Democrats have a hard time winnning elections. People need to get their heads out of the clouds. The Clintons know how to win, they know how to fight back, they know how to get things done. Obama simply says nice things that people like to hear. I am sickened how shallow we the public are and how we have lost the ability to do any hard critical thinking and let cable TV think for us.

[MDDem444]

Why is it that Obama said yesterday that he had "no intention of taking away folks' guns” but had earlier been for gun control? In the past he has said he "supported banning the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns.”

I am sick to death about hearing about his "redefining politics" and that he has some type of moral superiority over either of the Clintons. He's just as calculating and political as the rest of the candidates and will do and say ANYTHING to get elected. Vote for him if you think his experience is greater, but please don't try to convince us that he is the second coming!

[TLV]

"In 2005 Obama voted for Dick Cheney's secret energy bill, which was drafted by industry insiders, even Enron helped."

Aren't your dates a bit off? I thought this took place in 2001 when Enron was still a corporation under CEO, Ken Lay.

[OtayPanky]

Kate Michelman: Senator Obama is not just prepared to lead ­ as our beloved Teddy and Caroline Kennedy have said, he is prepared to lead in a way different than we have seen for decades. Not out in front with us behind him, but rather with us beside him.

===

This has been one of the great thematic differences between the speeches of Clinton and Obama.

Clinton's approach has always been grounded in the ideas of the patriarchy (only now it would be matriarchy): what she, as the great parent, would do for us, as the lost children.

Obama has taken a different tack rhetorically: what we - all together - can do to meet the challenges of our times.

After seven years of terrible disempowerment as Bushco hijacked our government, denied the supremacy of the constitution, and simply lied (935 times and counting) - Obama's message resonates with "We, the people".

Will the lofty and empowering rhetoric be matched with reality, if Obama is actually elected? No one really knows.

But apparently a whole lot of people are (as Bill Clinton put it) willing to roll the dice, just as they were in 1960.

[krissymax]

Unfortunatly Obama is not the Change Agent you think he is. Look at the New York Times today and their piece on Obama. Obama's campaign is ALL about CHANGE. He made it his slogan. Many have assumed he did because Obama couldn't make this election about experience and specific achievements, so he made it about CHANGE. When you review the REZKO story and then you look at the NEW YORK TIMES today, you will see that Obama's words are not anywhere near his actions. Obama's campaign has received $230K in contributions from Excelion Nuclear Power Company. What did they get in return for that money? In 2005 Obama voted for Dick Cheney's secret energy bill, which was drafted by industry insiders, even Enron helped. Clinton voted against it because it was widely viewed as another huge corporate give away and it was drafted in secret. Obama voted for it. Next see today's New York Times about Obama's bill which he changed from having nuclear leak reporting being mandatory to being voluntary. He made the bill weaker in favor of corporations - like Excelsion. I guess they got what they paid $230K for. Also, David Axelrod Obama's campaign manager was a consultant for Excelsion. He is the fake agent of Change!! His actions speak louder than his words. Check it out for yourself. This should be a huge story. The man of CHANGE is really all about WASHINGTON Pay to play!!