(From Barack Obama) "The cost of cynicism"

"For good reason, many of us have become cynical about what politics can achieve in this country. And as many Americans have turned away from Washington, we know all too well what's filled the void. It's the lobbyists and influence-peddlers with the cash and the connections -- the ones who've turned government into a game only they can afford to play.

They write the checks and we all get stuck with the bills. They think they own this government.
But today, we're here to tell them it's not for sale. So far, just this month, over 40,000 people have stepped up to own a piece of this campaign and prove them wrong. But the special interests and Washington insiders believe that they can still use their power and influence to control politics. They do not understand the power of the American people's will to change. They do not understand that when ordinary people come together, they can do extraordinary things.
They believe that hope is a fleeting feeling, and that people like you are a temporary bump in the long road of government of, by and for the privileged few. They are literally banking on it.
Will you join us before midnight tonight and show that we are a movement serious about change? You can make your donation here:

http://www.barackobama.com/becounted

It's not going to be easy changing our politics. We're divided into red states and blue states, and told to always point the finger at somebody else -- the other party, or gay people, or immigrants.
People tell me I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I promise you this -- I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change. I'm running for President because the time for the can't-do, won't- do, won't-even-try style of politics is over. It's time to turn the page.

The people can count in politics once again. Now's the time for you to make it happen -- be counted and make your donation:

http://www.barackobama.com/becounted

There is an awakening taking place in America today. We are seeing crowds we've never seen before; we're seeing people showing up to the very first political event of their lives.

They're coming because they know we are at a crossroads right now. Because we are facing a set of challenges we haven't seen in a generation -- and if we don't meet those challenges, we could end up leaving our children a world that's a little poorer and a little meaner than we found it.
The American people are hungry for a different kind of politics -- the kind of politics based on the idea that we are all connected as one people, that we all have a stake in one another.
I learned years ago as a community organizer in Chicago that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.

You and I, right now, can make that happen. Thank you.

Barack Obama"