Last night on C-Span, A Hawaiian woman stood and asked Barack Obama a
question during a Q and A. She said she was "torn", because her son was
for him, but her husband was voting for Hillary. She then asked
him,"Why should I vote for you?"

Below is a transcript of what Barack Obama said, word for word, as best as I could transcribe it.

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Barack Obama's Response:

I've already indicated why I actually think I can beat John McCain more
effectively than Hillary Clinton can. And I think that's very
important. The fact that I can get more independent votes and more
Republican votes. And offset whatever advantages he may have and
actually succeed. I think if Senator Clinton starts off with 47 percent
of the country against her. That's a hard place to start off if you want
to win an election. But that's a political matter. The question is, why
should I win? Because I think you shouldn't just ask can you win, you
want to ask why should you win. And there were at least four reasons
why I thought I could do better than Senator Clinton or any other
candidate as president at this moment in history. Number one: I have
the ability to bring people together. And as I said before I don't
think we can solve our health care problem, for example without having
a strong working majority. Both Senator Clinton and I want to provide
universal health care to everyone. We both have a government plan that
we set up where you will be able to buy into it, you won't be able to
be excluded for pre-existing conditions. We will both negotiate with
drug companies for the cheapest available price on drugs. We're both
going to put an emphasis on prevention. I emphasize costs more. She has
a mandate which would force everybody to buy health care. What I say
is, if we make it affordable, people will buy it. And I don't want to
penalize people before we make it affordable. But basically 95 percent
of the plans are the same. The question is, who can actually get it
done? And who can avoid the resistance of some of the Republicans who
may want to see improvements but politically feel like it's hard for
them to work with. So that's point number one. Point number two: I ask
myself who can overcome the special interests and lobbyists who have
come to dominate Washington? I don't take P.A.C. money. I don't take
money from Federally registered lobbyists. We have funded our campaign
with 25 dollar, 50 dollar, 100 dollar donations from people in this
audience. And so that means that I'm answerable to the public -- in a
way that Senator Clinton, who's raised more money from P.A.C.s and
special interests than John McCain has -- isn't. And this has been a
consistent theme. It's not just a stunt I did for this race. You know
last year I passed the toughest ethics reform legislation since
Watergate. I passed transparency laws to make sure that people would
know, on a searchable data base, how the Federal government is spending
our money. I have a consistent track record of reforming government so
that it's more accountable to you, the American people. Senator Clinton
does not have that track record. And I don't think we can change
Washington unless we can change how business is done in Washington. So
that's Number two. Number three, I think that part of what the American
people are looking for, right now, is straight talk. They don't want,
you know, political talk. I'll just give you one example. Senator
Clinton and I were in a debate. And she was asked about the Bankruptcy
law that she voted for in 2001, that made it harder for people to file
bankruptcy because of credit cards that had gone from zero percent
interest to 30 percent interest, or for people who had been sick and
paying for medical care -- I mean this was a credit card industry bill.
And she said -- during the debate, "Well, you know what, I voted for
it, but I had hoped it wouldn't pass." Now that was a quote on live TV.
That kind of talk I think makes people not trust government. And I
think we need somebody who's going to answer clearly and straight
forwardly about the problems that we face. That's number Three. And
that's why for example when I proposed that we were going to change our
tax code and increase oversight of the financial industry I didn't do
it in front of a Union Hall, I went to Wall Street and did it in front
of corporate C.E.O.s That's why when I talked about fuel efficiency
standards I went to Detroit, to people who most resist increases in
fuel efficiency standards. Because I want people to feel as if I'm
presenting them honestly with choices. I'm not trying to negotiate or
finesse or avoid tough questions. And the last point. I think the day
that I'm inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently.
Right? Your son sees somebody different, as president, after 43 of
them. He'll say, "You know what? That guy has a funny name just like
me." It changes our perceptions in this country. But it also changes
perceptions overseas. And that's not just symbolic. If I go to a poor
country in Africa, I do so with the credibility of having lived in a
poor country in southeast Asia. And having family, a grandmother, who
lives in a small village without electricity or running water. And so I
have credibility not just because I know the leaders but because I know
the people in those countries. If I'm reaching out to the Muslim world,
they may know that I'm a Christian, but they also know I lived in
Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world. And so
I understand their culture. And that gives me more credibility in
negotiations to figure out how to bridge the gaps. So those are four
good reasons. Aside from the fact that I'm a local guy from
Hawaii.That's the fifth. Alright? Thank You.