2008 Elections: The Democratic Party's Nominee

In his own words:

My job, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, isn’t to scold people for their lack of ideological purity. It’s to persuade as many people as I can, across the ideological spectrum, that my vision of the future is compatible with their values, and can make their lives a little bit better. Thus, while I may favor common-sense gun control laws, that doesn’t keep me from reaching out to NRA members who are worried about their lack of health insurance. I favor affirmative action, but I’m still going after the votes of white union members who oppose affirmative action, because I think I can convince them that it’s Bush’s economic agenda, and not affirmative action, that is eroding their job security and stagnating their wages. And while I may object to the misogyny and materialism of much of rap culture, I’m still going to spend the time reaching out to a hip-hop generation in search of a future.

In other words, I believe that politics in any democracy is a game of addition, not subtraction. And I believe deeply enough in the decency of the American people to think that progressives can build a winning majority in this country, so long as we’re not afraid to speak the truth, and so long as we don’t write off big chunks of the electorate just because they don’t agree with us on every issue.

Found while perambulating around DailyKos. These words were spoken in 2003, as part of an interview.

This is what President Obama's message is: let us reach out to each other. There will always be things about each other that we don't like or don't agree with. But together, we can tackle the things that really hurt us. Together, we can change them and make them better. For ourselves, our loved ones, our nation.

Politics in a democracy is a game of addition, not subraction. Yes!

Stumble It!