Hello, All,
On March 24th I became ill and have not been able to work at my job since then. This is also the reason why you haven't heard from me about holding meetings. I hope that someone else will come forward to pick up on this effort to pull the local groups together. I'm sincerely sorry that I cannot do much right now. But there is hope that I may be getting better and might be able to participate more later this Summer.
But right now, there is so much that each of us can do to help out.
Especially with the primary next week in North Carolina! Please take a minute to look at the opportunities to travel to North Carolina to help out, and/or pitch in to make phone calls.
We need to help finish up this Primary stuff and get on to the main campaign!! Wishing all of you the best!
Go Obama '08!Linda Murdock
I kept my eyes peeled for moose as I made my nighttime drive from Berlin to Conway last night. Luckily for me, the moose stayed out of the roads and I pulled up safely into the small parking lot next to the Conway office. The office is located smack dab in the center of Main Street, across the street from the ice cream parlor that helped me rediscover my childhood love of soft serve ice cream back in May during Barack’s visit.
While the ice cream shop was clearly not going to be open on a Saturday night in December, the Conway office was filled with volunteers.
In the office making calls were Bob and Janet, a couple in Eaton who have opened their home to three volunteers.
Bob is a state representative for the area, elected in 2006 during the Democratic wave that gave Democratic majorities to the State House. He is working for the campaign because he believes that Barack represents a new generation of leadership.
“The other candidates seem to be playing by an old political playbook where you have to deliver bumper sticker slogans and avoid answering questions,” Bob said. “Barack is different. He is authentic and honest, and has a clear sense of his own fallibility… he will be willing to admit when he’s wrong or made a mistake, and we need that now.”
I also spoke with Cheryl, a registered nurse in Conway who echoed Bob’s description of Barack representing a new brand of leader. Cheryl has volunteered for a number of local and state campaigns, but the Obama campaign is the first presidential campaign she’s been involved with since she stuffed envelopes for John F. Kennedy as a high school student.
“I have never been this excited about a candidate,” she said. “Barack is charismatic and trustworthy, and would be a real breath of fresh air.”
If you live in the Conway area, stop by our office across the street from Froagies on 85 Main Street or give us a call at 603-447-4888.
Next stop: the Seacoast.
When asked why she decided to become a history teacher, Kathleen Murdough of North Conway replied, “You’ll make a difference in people’s lives as a teacher, as cheesy as that sounds.”
She adds:
You have to understand the past in order to fully grasp the present and have an idea of where we’re going. I love watching my students draw connections between the past and what they see happening in the world today… it’s like seeing a light turn on.
Kathleen teaches at Kennett High School in Conway, location of last night’s Meet the Candidate event with Barack. Kathleen is in her third year as a teacher, and she believes that she has found the career path for her. She supports Barack because she believes that he can reach out to a divided nation and restore people’s faith in government.
Upon graduation, Kathleen moved to North Conway for her first teaching job. Seeing the daily impact of our education policies on the lives of her students, she believes that schools are struggling unnecessarily for the resources and societal support they need. Kathleen believes that the next president must consult with educators and parents before reforming education.
Today, Kathleen volunteers her time for Barack Obama. She believes that he has the judgment and vision to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief and bring the Iraq war to a responsible resolution. She also believes that Barack “has a broader vision on education and understands that we need to reward innovation in the classroom.”
Barack’s ability to listen and communicate with others has given Kathleen hope for the future that she hasn’t felt in years. She adds:
This is a guy who has faith in the American people and that is really rare. You can see that he wants to listen and learn from us, and that is something I don’t see in anyone else right now… He speaks with us, not at us, and I think that’s very important in a leader.
“I’m impatient with a school system that is leaving too many children behind,” Barack said during his return to Kennett High School in Conway earlier this evening.
Barack spoke to jam-packed high school gymnasiums today in Alton, Conway and Laconia. At every stop he made, he affirmed, “I’m not going to be a president who just talks about how teachers are great. I’m going to reward them for their greatness.”
Crowds of seniors, students, parents, and in some cases, infants, turned out to listen and ask Barack tough questions about his vision for America. As always, he gave clear, direct answers to every question.
In response to a Kennett High student’s question, Barack framed the importance of reforming education in America:
The globe has shrunk economically, environmentally, and in terms of accessibility of knowledge. Everything is interconnected, and the pace of change is accelerated. It is harder for us to insulate ourselves from the effects of events overseas… Kids here are competing with folks in Bangalore and Beijing, and they need to be ready.
Barack added, “If we invest in early childhood education, we can start closing that achievement gap” and prepare our kids for a 21st century information-based economy where the knowledge of our workforce is our greatest asset. He reminded the crowd that the nation gets back $10 for every dollar it invests in early childhood education.
The Obama plan for early childhood education drew praise from Laura of Wonalancet, a teacher at a local high school who brought six of her students to Conway to witness the democratic process in action. She confessed that while she wished all children could receive the early education they need from their parents, Barack’s plan will level the playing field for millions of children.
“He understands that we need to invest in kids early to make sure they reach their potential,” she said.
“We were living a good life, I never thought we’d ever worry about running out of money,” Bea Moore says in the living room of her Conway home.
Bea and her husband Bill had achieved a comfortable middle class life together. He worked as president of Yield House, a furniture manufacturing company, while she worked as an ophthalmologist’s assistant. They put their three children—Bill Jr., Kameron, and Sara—through college. They had accumulated debt to do so, but knew they could pay it off over time.
Yet in just one year, this sense of security collapsed, and their expectations of a modest retirement vanished.
Read More>>
