Make New Friends But Ditch the Old

Tonight- I got this email from a new friend of mine. He's a busy guy, but surprisingly, he finds the time to email me pretty regularly. I only sent him $25, but I guess that's enough to make him a pen pal. I want to thank my friend. Thank him for making me feel like all is not lost, that my brother will return home from war and that everyone in this country can go to the doctor for an asthma attack and find out they are not having a heart attack. I want to thank my friend for insisting on flying commercial- so he can have a chance to talk to constituents. I want to thank my friend for making me feel like a John F. Kennedy groupie. I want to thank him for making me second guess whether all politicians are jaded, shady, greedy (Have you seen how much Cheney has profited privately from his investments in Iraq?). For any random person outside the United States that has stumbled across this blog in search of new Colin Firth pictures, I hope my new friend can show you that America is not filled with selfish bullies that specialize in bungling foreign policy. My new friend can be your friend too. I promise.



Kristen --

The polls are closed in Kentucky and votes are being counted in Oregon, and it's clear that tonight we have reached a major milestone on this journey.

We have won an absolute majority of all the delegates chosen by the people in this Democratic primary process.

From the beginning, this journey wasn't about me or the other candidates. It was about a simple choice -- will we continue down the same road with the same leadership that has failed us for so long, or will we take a different path?

Too many of us have been disappointed by politics and politicians more times than you can count. We've seen promises broken and good ideas drowned in a sea of influence, point-scoring, and petty bickering that has consumed Washington.

Yet, in spite of all the doubt and disappointment -- or perhaps because of it -- people have stood for change.

Unfortunately, our opponents in the other party continue to embrace yesterday's policies and they will continue to employ yesterday's tactics -- they will try to change the subject, and they will play on fears and divisions to distract us from what matters to you and your future.

But those tactics will not work in this election.

They won't work because you won't let them.

Not this time. Not this year.

We still have work to do to in the remaining states, where we will compete for every delegate available.

But tonight, I want to thank you for everything you have done to take us this far -- farther than anyone predicted, expected, or even believed possible.

And I want to remind you that you will make all the difference in the epic challenge ahead.

Thank you,

Barack Obama