Sunday, September 09, 2007

Women For Obama - San Francisco Fundraising Event For Barack Obama



On Friday September 7th San Francisco played host to an event called "Women For Obama." Some newspapers described the event as "Senator Obama's attempt at courting the Women vote." Well, first, for all who were there, it was more than an attempt - it really hit the mark. Second, it drew over 3,000 people, some -- like myself -- paying from $25 to as much as $2,300 to see hear, and greet the Senator. Third, like every Obama event, it was more than a political speech, it was part happening, part teach-in, part love fest, and part convention, with the Senator as ringleader.

One has to attend an event like this to really tangibly understand the impact he has on people. Senator Obama is the best example of how individuals and the human sprit that rests in all of us matter. When some of the mainstream media asks "Is America ready for.." I automatically know the person asking the question is either inhuman, blind to the human sprit, or some combination of both.

The event itself was put together by a vast combination of people, lead by San Francisco District Attorney Kamela Harris, and a group of people called "Women For Obama," and of which my friend Rosa Cabrera (who started another group called "Rise Up For Obama) was part of -- and gave a good speech. But the most impressive aspect of the event to me was the number of college-age young women who were there -- at least a thousand of the 3,000 people. Moreover, many adults brought their kids to see him, so the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium had a vast combination of little ones running around.

Obama's speech started off almost pro-forma, but then he got rolling. He talked about familar themes like ending the Iraq War, but attacked the idea of his "lack of experience" by explaining that at times having too much experience -- in Washington -- causes one to make mistakes, like the Iraq war. Obama also emotively talked about his mother's battle with ovarian cancer and how she was more worried about her medical bills than her own health, thus fueling his desire to have Universal Health Care for all Americans.

But the real star of the event, other than the Senator himself, were the thousands of people, many representing online groups formed on BarackObama.com, which came together to form a successful event. When the story of this campaign is written, it will be of how everything from event planning to fundraising was driven from a great website system that's frankly without peer. It's the Obama campaign's secret weapon, and it's only secret because many in politics still don't understand how to use the Internet -- but they do and they're getting better at it each month.

1 comment:

  1. Two Countries - Two Debates

    http://ovariancancerdebate.blogspot.com/

    Survivors' Debate: The Past Decade in Ovarian Cancer

    Public/Survivor Poll: http://tinyurl.com/2puwrq

    WHAT:


    Ovarian cancer survivors, Carolyn Benivegna (U.S.) and Sandi Pniauskas (Canada), announce the first ever Ovarian Cancer Survivors Debate. The two conferences are survivor-led and survivor-organized with debate and discussion surrounding the multitude of issues, including access to care - the past and the present. Open and lively dialogue will be encouraged. Funding for these events has been primarily through the ovarian cancer survivors.

    WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

    All cancer survivors/caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, pharmacists and the general public are encouraged to attend and participate.

    WHERE/
    WHEN:

    #1: Sheraton Hotel, Novi, MI Sat. October 27th, 2007

    #2: Metropolitan Hotel, Toronto, ON Sat. November 3rd, 2007

    Time: 10:00 am - 12:30 pm

    No cost to attend

    Ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers and still has no early detection test. The debate and ensuing open forum public discussions will include the specifics of disease-related issues including genetics, access to care and communications.

    Carolyn Benivegna is a nine year ovarian cancer survivor, a BRCA1 carrier and Founder/Board Member of OCAG-GC. Sandi Pniauskas is an eight ovarian cancer survivor with a genetic predisposition to Lynch Syndrome/Hereditary NonPolyposis Colorectal Cancer and a member of the Cochrane Collaboration.

    Ovarian cancer survivors Annamarie DeCarlo and Dr. Yi Pan, MD, PhD will co-moderate both events. Bridget Capo (R.N.) and Pamela J. West (R.N.) will provide support and collaborate with Benivegna and Pniauskas in formal publication of the event proceedings.

    "Our community is very pleased to offer this exciting open public forum without cost to participants and we encourage active dialogue. We value our professional and family caregivers, but have seen the need, over years, for our community of cancer patients to have open discussions on the real issues that affect their lives. Today, and for the future. We need to appreciate the past, so that we may effectively bring attention to the sufferings experienced in our community. Most importantly we need to escalate change.” Benivegna/Pniauskas

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