America today cries out for change, and Americans today have the opportunity to vote for that change.
A vote for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is a vote to immediately jumpstart the economy through energy rebates and state growth funds. These programs will assist Americans in paying rising bills and resisting cuts in local jobs and services. Additionally, by simplifying tax filings and providing tax cuts, a vote for Barack Obama is a restoration of fairness to the tax code and a much-needed tax break for middle class Americans.
A vote for Barack Obama is a vote to support small businesses and the rights of laborers to organize and to earn a living wage. A vote for Barack Obama is a vote to maintain current American jobs and to create millions of new jobs especially in the areas of emerging science and green technologies. This will put America on the path to energy independence and reduce our impact on the fragile environment.
A vote for Barack Obama is a vote for renewed American diplomacy and willingness to engage with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe, in direct and meaningful dialogue. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) believe full and frank discussion is the best way to rally the strong international support that will be necessary for America to lead on globally imperative issues of terrorism, the dangerous proliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change, devastating global poverty, humanitarian crises and the travesty of epidemic disease.
A vote for Barack Obama also means continued support for the brave men and women who serve our country in the armed forces by providing our troops with clear direction and the best equipment possible when they are called upon to defend our national interests in the unique 21st century challenges we face today.
It is the great hope of every generation that the world we leave for our children will be better than the one we knew. A vote for Barack Obama is a promise to our children and to our children's children that reasonable health care will be a right afforded to all Americans and not a privilege provided to the fortunate few.
A vote for Barack Obama means that the failed policies of No Child Left Behind will be reworked to improve its effectiveness. An Obama-Biden administration will invest in teachers and children and work to make college affordable with the assertion that education is the gateway to the opportunity that must be attainable for all Americans.
A vote for Barack Obama is a promise to our daughters that they will receive equal pay for equal work, and that their rights as women will be respected. It is a promise that the civil rights of all Americans will be protected regardless of race, gender, creed or sexual orientation.
Barack Obama challenges us to embrace his vision, a vision much larger than can be expressed on this page. He calls us to join with him in "healing this nation and repairing this world." He asks for our vote and with it, the proclamation that, "Yes, we can."