Maybe you've been a Republican all your life.

Maybe you listen to Sean Hannity.  Maybe you watch Bill O'Reilly.  Maybe you're one of Rush Limbaugh's Dittoheads.

Maybe you're like exVRWC:

ROTC Cadet, Air Force Captain, Free Republic diarist, James Dobson quoting conservative, 2 time Bush voter.  Church worship leader.

Maybe your parents were Republicans.  Your grandparents too.

Maybe you never, ever, ever imagined you would vote for a Democrat.

Maybe you think that, on the issues, you are more politically aligned with John McCain.  Or Sarah Palin.

But that doesn't matter.  We still need you.

You can help save this country.

We live in red states and blue states.  We go to churches, shuls, and mosques.  Or none of the above.

We are young married women.  Old single men.  College students.  Crazy cat ladies. 

Some of us make a lot of money and have benefited from Bush's tax cuts.  Some of us live paycheck to paycheck, one accident away from catastrophe.  Some of us have nothing at all.

Some of us went to Ivy League universities.  We are lawyers and doctors.

Some of us have GEDs.  We work in factories and cubicles.

Some of us wear the uniform and serve our country proudly.

Some of us marched in the streets, demanding an end to the Viet Nam War.  And the Gulf War.  And Occupation Iraqi Freedom.

Some of us believe in a woman's right to make any and all decisions about her body.  Some of us believe life begins at conception.  Some of us believe both.

Some of us were born into Democratic families.  We voted for FDR.  We voted for Clinton.  For both Clintons.

Some of us were born into Republican families.  We voted for Nixon.  Twice.  We voted for Reagan.  Twice. 

We are not all the same.  We took different journeys to come here.  But we are all here, and we all want the same thing.

We want to change our country.

We want to save our country.  We want to be the beacon of hope and greatness in the world that we once were and can be again.

We want to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home.

We want an end to the corruption and incompetence of our government.

We want health care for every American.

We want air that is clean and safe to breathe.

We want to follow our hopes instead of our fears. 

We know it won't be easy.  We know it will take a long time to repair the damage done, not just by the current administration, but by past administrations as well.  George W. Bush is not solely to blame; we know that.

But we must fix it.  We know that too.

And we know that we must change.  We must.  We cannot continue the same policies that have led us to this dark moment in history.  And we cannot continue to give in to hate.  We cannot continue this cycle of red against blue, liberals against conservatives, us against them. 

We cannot condone any more lies and hate.

We know that these words are true:

Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters.  If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

And this election is too big and too important to be about small, petty, hateful, dishonest things.

We know it is scary.  Change is scary.  And this election is scary.  Because we all understand that we are on the brink of destiny -- and the man we choose to lead us will determine our fate.

This is our moment.  We must act.  We must vote for change.  We must believe in hope. 

And we cannot do it alone.

We need you -- every Republican, evangelical, pro-life Dittohead.  Every red state stay-at-home hockey mom.  Every American who isn't sure what the answer is but knows, deep in their soul, that it begins with change.

This is not about party.  This is not even about politics.  This is about our country and our future.

So please, help us.  Help us turn our nation around.  Help us to make it better. 

We've been waiting for you.

Join us.

www.barackobama.com