A friend of mine named Lisa asked me to pass this along to you.
Memo to Barack Obama: Stop Whining Already and Start Fighting for Votes!
From: A Disaffected Democratic Voter
Dear Senator Obama:
Why do your campaign and its surrogates keep telling Hillary Clinton that she needs to drop out of the race? What are you afraid of - competing against a "girl"? Come on -- don't be a wimp!
A majority of Democrats want this race to go on. Millions of people in ten additional states want an opportunity to vote. I've heard you're not much for hard work, but is it really too much to ask someone who wants to be President of the United States to spend two more months meeting the very Americans you want to represent?
I'm getting the feeling that you want to be coronated rather than nominated. Well, no one said this race was going to be a cakewalk. And besides, you have only yourself to blame for not being able to close the deal with voters up till now.
Look, you purposely ran for President -- as one Pennsylvania paper put it - with the thinnest resume of any Presidential candidate in modern times. A year ago probably fewer than 50% of Democrats even knew your name. Even now Democratic voters seem almost split between you and your opponent. Let's face it -- you still have a lot of work to do.
First, you need to convince bread and butter Democrats that you can relate to them, that you understand their challenges, and that you have proposals - not just hope and hype - to help them.
Second, you need to restore Democrats' faith in your credibility, character, judgment and electability after the damaging and prejudicial revelations about your spiritual leader and mentor, Reverend Wright. Your continued reliance on words will not be enough - more action is needed on your part.
Third, you still need to convince a lot of voters you're up for the challenge of being Commander in Chief and Leader of the Free World. Senator McCain does not have that problem by virtue of his military service, his experience on the world stage, and his age. As one of the youngest and least experienced candidates ever to run for President, you have an uphill battle here.
Finally, there are millions of enthusiastic supporters for Hillary Clinton. In the past, you've dismissed the idea that these supporters would do anything but vote for you if you were the Democratic nominee. Well, things have changed since you voiced that sentiment.
Millions of Democrats are now flirting with the idea of voting for Senator McCain over you, whether because of your association with Reverend Wright, the demeaning comments by you and your campaign toward Senator Clinton, or the bias of the media and certain Democratic "elites" in what is supposed to be a fair race between two strong contenders.
And yet you and your supporters continue to demean Senator Clinton, Bill Clinton's presidency, and Senator Clinton's voter base. You would do well, sir, not to take us for granted. Perhaps a little less arrogance, and a little more humility, is needed.
Voters in each state want to be taken seriously. We want to be wooed. At the very least, we want to be asked for our vote in a nice way, not dismissed out of hand.
So, Senator Obama, I would say you still have your work cut out for you. This is not the time to rest on your laurels, whatever they may be.
These two months are an opportunity to show the Democratic Party and the rest of the country what you're made of. I don't see Hillary Clinton backing down from a fight - why would you?
Take the gift of these months, Senator Obama, to continue to make your case to the American people. As Senator Clinton has stated, running for President is a privilege and an incredible opportunity.
It would be nice to know you recognize that as well.
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