Three Minute Speech on Super Tuesday for Senator Obama

This is the speech I gave at the Latah County Caucus for Senator Obama on Super Tuesday in February 2008:

My name is Michael Riley, and I want to speak to you about Senator Barack Obama and his message of change and hope. It’s not a message concerned with whether you’re White or Black, rich or poor, or even Democrat or Republican, but instead is about the future taking over from the past. For almost half of my life I’ve lived under the leadership of either a Bush or a Clinton. Twenty years of partisan politics have left our nation a “house divided”. I would like to welcome all Edwards and Clinton and undecided caucus-goers to come join us in supporting Barack Obama, and work with us to heal the divisions we have created in the past. Let’s all pledge to work for an America with stronger convictions, stronger leadership, and stronger ties between all who want to reach the high ideals our country was founded upon. Some people will say that’s the kind of change that we can’t achieve, but I’m here to tell you that together, yes we can!

Our nation is currently mired in a war in Iraq that we never should have started, and that our government seemingly has no resolve to end. I’m proud to support Barack Obama for President because he is the only candidate represented here tonight who spoke out courageously against going to war when we still could have avoided it. One of the founding ideals of our party is the promotion of peace and diplomacy over war, and yet Senator Obama didn’t just give those values lip service, he led us with his convictions, and he will lead us out of Iraq if elected.

Barack Obama is not just another politician, but a leader of the kind that comes around once in a generation. He is good for the Democratic Party, he’s good for our country, and he’s helping make the political process more accessible: millions of Americans are turning out to vote and caucus because they are starting to believe that change can be a reality. I can’t help but get excited about being a part of the process that allows Idaho to send the first African American President of the United States to the White House. That is no empty symbolism: that is real change that you and I can make happen.

The Bush Administration will end this year, and we will have a chance to heal the wounds of the last eight years. Our choices really do have the power to work positive changes, and this window of opportunity is open now. Please stand with me tonight for a man who will work to pass a universal health care plan for all Americans. Let’s choose a man who has a record of taking on the issue of lobbying reform and winning a cleaner government, and who will challenge us to join with him and govern our country together, an America that is once again “of, by, and for the people.” If you feel that you can get beyond the cynicism that tells you “no one can do all that”, please stand here with us in support of Barack Obama, knowing that with all of us working together, “yes we can!”