Obama Rally in Anchorage, Alaska

The Obama-Biden ticket is widely supported in Alaska. The campaign office is run almost entirely by local volunteers with only a few paid staffers. The local community's support is amazing. There is in fact still untapped potential in local supporters. As I wore my Obama sweatshirt today, I was stopped a few times in the mall and grocery store by people who wanted to know how to get a shirt and how to volunteer....these people - families of people, had not even heard about the rally or volunteered yet, but wanted to be a driving force in getting Obama elected next month.

So today the official Obama rally (sponsored by the Obama campaign) was held at Delany Park in Anchorage. The goals of the rally were (1) highlight why Alaskans are supporting Obama (2) to connect Obama supporters with each other (2) and to connect Obama supporters to the campaign so they can volunteer over the next 30 days up until the election. They encouraged people to use Pro-Obama signs and not Anti-Palin. The day was not about attacking the other candidates but rather about promoting Obama. Representatives from various groups (Veterans for Obama, Women for Obama, etc...) spoke about how the Obama-Biden ticket makes sense for them.

A common misconception is that most veterans support McCain because of his military experience. Many veterans, however, are fed up with status quo and do not agree with the current approach to the war. They are also concerned about accesibility to healthcare and retirement benefits. The long, tedious process that veterans have to endure before receiving their full benefits is unacceptable. Many vets have gotten sicker or even died before getting through the process. Veterans also support a fresh approach to making the Unites States of America a respected country in the world again - not through compromise with terrorist but through integrity.

As for women supporters, contrary to what many Republican conservatives suggest, all women who choose to to support Obama are not just "a bunch of heathen, liberal, lesbian baby killing girls on a rampage." These are Native American women, white women, Asian women, African-American women, old women, young women, women of faith, educated women, moms, grandmoms, daughters, aunties, sisters and friends. These are women that are from a variety of different generations, ethnic backgrounds, social classes, etc who are impressed by (1) the respect Obama has for his wife and the love he has for his daughters, as well as (2) Biden's first hand experience of raising children and having to balance work and family and (3) their advocacy and support for the women of America as smart, intelligent and equal American citizens.

At the rally, tents were setup for face painting for kids and adults, volunteer signup and Obama pins, t-shirts, yard signs, etc... They also had a tent for people to volunteer to write postcards to undecided voters in swing states. Volunteers were asking people to stop by and just write 5 postcards sharing their personal story....not arguments about issues, but stories about why they support Obama.

Here is some (very amatuer, ha!) video of the rally:


Here are just a few of the signs from the rally:



Again, these are Alaskans for Obama that are making sure their voice will be heard on November 4, 2008. So I encourage all Obama supporters to volunteer in some way. Whether it's writing 5 postcards, making 5 phone calls or even driving people to early voting places or the polls on Election Day. All of our individual contributions combined will have a HUGE impact in this election.

Personally, I support Obama for a variety of reasons that I'll blog about later. Many conservatives suggest that Obama supporters believe the "savior" for American politics. I do not think he is the savior. I do think he is a catalyst and leader for change. He has my vote and I support him to be the next president of the United States of America.