In his interview with the Rev. Sharpton, Chairman Kaine emphasized his long-standing relationship with the African American community and the critical importance of African American voters:

“I come out of a civil rights background in Richmond, Virginia, where the African American community frankly has been key to every one of the seven races that I’ve ran and won, and…I don’t forget who was helping me.”

Today, Chairman Kaine echoed that message on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, noting that the Democratic Party this year will be working particularly hard to reconnect with first-time 2008 voters—an important group who helped make President Obama’s election possible and who can help make Democratic success possible this year. Said Chairman Kaine:

“There were 15 million Americans who voted for the first time in 2008—[they were] overwhelmingly minority, largely young, more women than men. ... On June 5, we started to do canvasses [with those voters]. About 20,000 volunteers went out on the street on the fifth of June…to go directly door to door to those voters to start to make the connection between what change they wanted to see happen when they voted in 2008 and the need to continue to be about putting good partners in place who will work with this President, not just throw rocks at him.”

You can listen to Chairman Kaine’s interviews below and find out more about how you can vote and make a difference this year at www.raiseyourvote.com.

“Our main focus at the DNC is really going to be the 15 million Americans who voted for the first time in 2008, who wanted to be part of an historic election. We know that they are disproportionately minorities, disproportionately young, more women than men, but we also know that they would not normally participate at a heavy level in a midterm election…so we’re focused very significantly on this group of 15 million to try and increase that turn-out.”

“We do have to have very significant turn-out in the African American community…Here we have a President who walked in after a historic election to the toughest circumstances since FDR was inaugurated in 1933 – a horrible economy, two wars , all kinds of other issues – and whether it’s been turning the economy around…or getting health insurance reform passed…this President has tackled all the tough issues. But he’s only going to be able to be successful in the second half of this term if he’s got good colleagues to work with in Congress and in the Governors’ mansions, and it’s absolutely critical that African-American supporters who stood so strongly with the President in 2008 continue to help him have partners who will enable him to get the job done.”

You can listen to the full interview below, and visit RaiseYourVote.com to find out how you can register to vote and make a difference this year.

Said Chairman Kaine:

“Raise Your Vote…will enable people all over the United States - whether you’re living in Mercer Island, Washington, or Cleveland, or the Upper East Side of Manhattan to get on one website and figure out how to register to vote if you’re not registered.”

Noting that “an expanded electorate is great for our country and great for our candidates,” Chairman Kaine placed the Raise Your Vote tool within the context of the DNC’s larger Vote 2010 efforts to bring more first-time 2008 voters back to the polls this fall to support the President’s allies in races across the country.

The DNC will be reaching out to first-time 2008 voters and other new voters to ensure they have the information they need to support the President and Democrats this fall.

You can listen to the interview for yourself below and hear all about the DNC’s Raise Your Vote and Vote 2010 efforts here. And don’t forget to register to vote!

"I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to work for justice and freedom...I want to be remembered as someone who tried." - Dr. Dorothy Height

Civil rights legend Dr. Dorothy Height passed away this morning in Washington, D.C. at the age of 98. Dr. Height, President of the National Council of Negro women for 40 years, was one of the most influential women involved in the civil rights movement, and had devoted her life to fighting for equality for African Americans and women.

President Obama released the following statement on the news of Dr. Height's passing:

"Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dorothy Height - the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans. Ever since she was denied entrance to college because the incoming class had already met its quota of two African American women, Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality. She led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, and served as the only woman at the highest level of the Civil Rights Movement - witnessing every march and milestone along the way. And even in the final weeks of her life – a time when anyone else would have enjoyed their well-earned rest – Dr. Height continued her fight to make our nation a more open and inclusive place for people of every race, gender, background and faith. Michelle and I offer our condolences to all those who knew and loved Dr. Height – and all those whose lives she touched."

The Washington Post reported on some of Dr. Height's life work and accomplishments:

As a civil rights activist, Ms. Height participated in protests in Harlem during the 1930s. In the 1940s, she lobbied first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on behalf of civil rights causes. And in the 1950s, she prodded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to move more aggressively on school desegregation issues. In 1994, Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor...

In the turmoil of the civil rights struggles in the 1960s, Ms. Height helped orchestrate strategy with movement leaders including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, Whitney Young, James Farmer, Bayard Rustin and John Lewis, who later served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia....

In August 1963, Ms. Height was on the platform with King when he delivered his "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. But she would say later that she was disappointed that no one advocating women's rights spoke that day at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Less than a month later, at King's request, she went to Birmingham, Ala., to minister to the families of four black girls who had died in a church bombing linked to the racial strife that had engulfed the city.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine's Statement On The Passing of Civil Rights Leader Dorothy Height:

“Today, the world lost an iconic figure, a true visionary and drum major for equality and justice. Dr. Height, one of the founding members of the Civil Rights movement, worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, Roy Wilkins, A. Phillip Randolph, Mary McLeod Bethune, and others. She fought tirelessly so that African American women and men would be treated fairly and with dignity. Her efforts on behalf of economic and social justice helped secure desegregation of public schools, equal employment opportunities, greater pay equity for women, equal access to public accommodations, and voting rights for all Americans.

“During her four decades as president of the National Council of Negro Women, Dr. Height worked hard to ensure that the causes of freedom and equality remained at the forefront of the American consciousness. For her work, Dr. Height received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, as well as the Congressional Gold medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow.

“Dr. Height’s tireless efforts on behalf of the less fortunate were a testament to her love and compassion toward her fellow man. Her long and distinguished career improved the lives of countless Americans and her legacy will endure for generations to come. I join Dr. Height’s friends and family in commemorating her lifetime and I offer my condolences on their loss.”

DC Democratic Party Chair Anita Bonds' Statement on the Passing of Dr. Dorothy Height:

"The District of Columbia Democrats acknowledge the passing of Dr. Dorothy Height, famous, celebrated and outstanding American. Her legacy will live on through the millions of lives she touched during her lifetime of 98 years. During her most active years in the civil rights struggle, the average citizen in the Black community, the President of the United States, and governments across the world, sought her comforting presence, knowledge and wisdom. In recent times, her undying dedication to the call of justice and democracy was exemplified through her love for young people by connecting them to the rich history of their cultures and promises for a bright future through teaching that "you can be what you want to be" with preparation to better yourself -- be it President of the United States, world champion tennis athlete, accomplished college graduate or esteemed family. May Dr. Height rest in peace knowing that her journey has been an inspiration to her nation.”

We are honoring the civil rights activist by remembering when the DC Council presented her with a recognition resolution last year. The recognition took place during the Congressional Black Caucus week in Washington DC at the Park at Fourteenth. See a video and photos of the presentation of the recognition here:

With the passing of Civil Rights activist and feminist Dr. Dorothy Height, CNN’s Ali Velshi and Donna Brazile discuss the next generation of leaders and crusaders. Watch the video here.

The Democratic Party continues the fight for voting rights year-round. As we know too well, these struggles are not a thing of the past: Minority voters in particular still encounter obstacles at every step of the voting process, from registration to casting a ballot. Practices such as photo identification laws that respond to the made-up problem of voter fraud disproportionately exclude low-income and minority voters.

We are making definite progress -- but we won't stop working to promote a system of elections that is accessible, open, and fair in upcoming elections and beyond -- and ensure that every vote lawfully cast is counted.

You can read the statement from DNC Chairman Tim Kaine commemorating today's anniversary of Bloody Sunday below:

“This weekend marks the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where some 600 civil rights marchers attempted to walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They had only made it about six blocks, to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, when the marchers were met with tear gas and beaten by state and local officers with clubs. Horrific images from that day broadcast on television left an indelible mark on the American people. Later that year, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, putting an end to poll taxes, literacy tests, and other efforts to keep minorities from voting.

“We have certainly come a long way since Selma. Last year, more than four decades after Bloody Sunday, our first African American President, Barack Obama, was sworn into office. For many, his Presidency represents the achievement of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. But as we acknowledge how far we have come, we cannot allow ourselves to think our work is over to breaking down barriers for all Americans.

“Even today, decades after Jim Crow laws were struck down and four years after the Voting Rights Act was renewed, too many Americans still face discrimination at the polls and people are treated unfairly because of who they are or what they believe. That is why the President and the Democrats at all levels of government are committed to ensuring that every eligible American is able to cast a vote and have their vote counted. And it’s why the President and the Justice Department are making fighting discrimination a priority. President Obama’s signing of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which is named in part for James Byrd, who was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck in Texas because of the color of his skin, was just one step in the right direction.

“But there is more work to do. As we remember the brave men and women who marched 45 years ago, let us renew our commitment to ensuring that all Americans – regardless of race, color and creed – are able to live free from fear or discrimination and able to achieve the American Dream.”

During the evening Chairman Kaine discussed the DNC’s outreach to the African American community and the president’s agenda on a host of issues. It was also a time to commemorate Black History Month.

The DNC takes diversity seriously among its staff, and we work hard to reach out to communities and voters from all walks of life. The DNC has worked on improving its outreach to the African American community by including African American leaders in its state party and OFA outreach, having meetings with community leaders, and having national calls with DNC African American leaders and other prominent African American community leaders to promote and support the President’s agenda in the African American community.

The evening was very successful and the DNC looks forward to holding more discussions with the community in the future.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine:

“Today we begin our celebration of Black History Month, a month where our country sets aside time to honor African Americans and their contributions to the fabric of American life and culture. We must not forget how far our country has come within such a short amount of time. Less than 60 years ago African Americans were relegated to segregated bathrooms and second-class citizenship by force of law. Now African Americans are an integral part of and participate in the leadership ranks of our most esteemed private and public sector institutions.

“Last year, our nation swore in its first African American president. President Obama's election is a significant moment in U.S. history—a moment that all Americans can be proud of and a sign of how far our country has come.

“Our success as a nation would be incomplete without the contributions of African American pioneers such as Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. Dubois, Howard Thurman, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Governor Douglas Wilder, and many others too numerous to mention. As a result of their leadership and tireless efforts America is a stronger nation. All Americans, regardless of race, creed or color have benefited from their accomplishments.

“Of course, there is more to do. Inequalities in many aspects of American life—including education, health care, housing, and more—still disproportionately affect African Americans. The Democratic Party is committed to making sure that all Americans have the opportunities and resources they need to succeed, are treated fairly, and are given the respect they deserve.

“On behalf of the Democratic Party, I thank all of those who spent their lives fighting for equality, and encourage all of us to recommit ourselves to the march for civil and equal rights.”

DNC Black Caucus Chairwoman Virgie Rollins:

"We celebrate the beginning of Black History Month reflecting on African American achievements. Nearly forty-five years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the Democratic Party continues to be at the forefront of ensuring social and economic justice for every American, and promoting the richness of diversity in our nation.

"We made history electing our first African American President. Our Party will continue its commitment to ensuring that African Americans have the same opportunities as our fellow Americans in realizing the American Dream.

"We also continue to pray and support our sisters and brothers and their families in Haiti."

Donna Brazile, DNC Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation, energized a crowd of hundreds of African American leaders and voters on Thursday in Nevada.

Addressing more than 400 participants at the Culinary Training Academy in North Las Vegas, Vice Chair Brazile came with a strong message of support for her friend Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

As reported by the Las Vegas Sun, she told supporters, “Harry Reid is part of our family – not just the Democratic family or the black family but the American family. I am proud to be an African American for Harry Reid.” She continued, ”In the bank of justice, he has a full account. Some people don’t even have an account. He opened that account decades ago, long before it was fashionable to back this and support that. He opened his account because of his faith. And he believes that God made us all equal.”

Participants left fired up and ready to go with clear instructions to continue carrying the message of support for Senator Reid to others in their community.

Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Sam Liberman was thrilled with the turnout and said “Donna’s heart, humor, and keen insight are an inspiration to multiple generations of Democratic voters. Her support of Senator Reid is unwavering and much appreciated by Nevadans and Democrats across the country.”

You can read more about the event as reported by the Las Vegas Sun.

Fannie Lou believed in democracy. When she first learned that Blacks could vote, she did not wait. She raised her hand to go down to Indianola, Mississippi to register to vote. Though her first attempts were unsuccessful, the experience moved Fannie Lou to act. Despite the loss of her job as a sharecropper, multiple beatings, and threats to her life, Hamer became involved in voter registration drives and helped form the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. In 1964, Hamer took her case to the Convention. Speaking to the Credentials Committee, she famously challenged the Party to live up to its ideals, asking “Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?” Hamer’s words and presence at the Convention led the DNC to change its rules in 1968 to require equal representation within state delegations to its national conventions.

Fannie Lou served as a Mississippi delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and continued to work to expand the rights of women and people of color until her death in 1977. She is buried in her hometown of Ruleville, Mississippi, where her tombstone, adopting her signature line, reads, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

The spirit that Fannie Lou ignited in our country decades ago continues to grow today. As millions of voters prepare to go to the polls in Virginia and New Jersey to cast their ballots, the Democratic National Committee stands strongly committed to meaningful and comprehensive election reform that will guarantee every eligible American - regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, disability, language, political party, gender, economic status or education - the constitutional right to equal participation in the political process.

Today, we remember a pioneer. A woman who dared to expand democracy for all people.

Read the DNC Resolution in Support of Accurate, Open and Transparent Elections in the United States of America.

“On this day in 1865, emancipation finally made it west, freeing the last slaves in Texas . So today, we commemorate the end of slavery in America and honor all those throughout our history who have fought for freedom, equality and justice by celebrating Juneteenth.

“As we take time to honor this occasion, we also stop to consider the remarkable path African Americans have forged, from slavery to the White House. With the first African American President of the United States , we usher in an era of endless opportunity. A new generation of Americans will be raised with no limits to their dreams – something their predecessors, who fought for equality as slaves in the fields of Texas and Freedom Riders in the streets of Alabama, may have never been able to imagine.

“But while we have come a long way, we still have further to go. We at the DNC join President Obama and the African American community in the fight to ensure equality in education, employment, and health care for all Americans.”

Full remarks below.

Watch the hearings here.

My name is Roy Gross. I’m a proud member of Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit, Michigan.

When I was a young man and wanted to start a family, I went to Detroit and landed a job as an automobile transporter. I delivered new cars from the assembly plants to dealerships around the country.

It was a great job, a Teamsters union job. You worked hard and it paid good wages, plus health care and pension. I worked there for 18 years. Working class families were doing well in Detroit until the Bush Administration took office, then everything changed.

Manufacturing jobs were exported by the hundreds of thousands and replaced with minimum-wage jobs in the so-called “New Economy.” I’m one of the lucky ones; I still have a job. But many of my friends and co-workers have lost their jobs and their homes.

If you ask me, this so-called “New Economy” is not working. We need a renewed economy. That’s why I’m seeing so many of my friends in Michigan - Democrats, Republicans and Independents - putting aside their differences to join this campaign.

Barack Obama will enact fair trade policies and work just as hard for us as we work for America. I will do everything I can, from now until Election Day, to put Michigan in the Obama column.

Monica Early, Ohio

I’m Monica Early from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Last January, someone sent me an e-mail containing so-called “facts” about Senator Obama. The e-mail painted a scary picture, questioning his faith and patriotism. I decided to do some fact-checking on my own and learned the truth.

What I discovered is that Barack Obama is a man of faith, a man of values and a man of action—someone who has shown his love for America by fighting for our people, helping communities left behind on Chicago’s South Side, fighting today for working families and the tax breaks we need to purchase a home, pay for college and save for retirement.

I am grateful for the e-mail that tried to scare me. It brought me here, an ordinary citizen, empowered by a leader who told me I could make a difference. Ohio is home to four of the fastest-dying cities in America. John McCain promises to continue the Bush economic policies that got us there.

Einstein said a definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. If we elect John McCain, then, according to Einstein, we surely would be insane.

We need change. We need President Barack Obama!

Wes Moore

Hi, my name is Wes Moore. Twelve years ago, I took an oath on the Bible to defend, support and protect the United States of America. Today, I cannot fathom a more perfect expression of my allegiance as a soldier and citizen than giving my full support for Barack Obama to be my next commander-in-chief.

Before I deployed for Afghanistan, my grandparents gave me a Bible. Inside, they wrote four simple words: have faith, not fear. Those words protected and guided me and the soldiers under my command during some of the most trying days of my life.

I want a president who has a comprehensive strategy for Iraq and Afghanistan, and who can rally young people to serve, both in and out of uniform, and sees these as complementary, not contradictory goals. I want a president who believes in supporting our troops while we are fighting overseas, and supporting us with proper health care and education when we come home.

This election is not about history. Nor is it about making history. It’s about seizing history.

The charge my grandparents gave me—have faith, not fear—is the same challenge I issue tonight. A faith that this nation can rise to meet any challenge.

Tonight, Senator Obama is not asking you to have faith in him. He is asking you to have faith with him. Let’s make Barack Obama our next president.

The Honorable Janet Monacco, Florida

I’m Janet Monaco from Rockledge, Florida, by way of Long Island, New York. Fourteen years ago I moved to Florida to pursue my vision of the American dream. Within five years, I had bought a house and opened two pet stores. I was living well.

Then disaster struck: back-to-back hurricanes, and rising costs of food and gas. Today, I’m a struggling small-business owner who is diabetic and without health insurance. I work 70-hour weeks at the store and more hours in a part-time job and still can’t afford insurance.

I don’t tell this story to get sympathy. Everyone has challenges. But what gets me angry is that George Bush and John McCain have done nothing for people like me—and, in fact, have done plenty of things that make it even harder to get by. Huge tax breaks for those at the top. Looking out for the lobbyists and not the little guy. And billions spent in tax cuts for big corporations, but not enough for small businesses like mine.

I’m supporting Barack Obama, because we can’t afford four more years of the same. Yes, we can make a change!

Nathaniel Fick

Good afternoon. I’m Nathaniel Fick. My Marine platoon landed in Afghanistan on a moonlit night in 2001. A little more than a year later, we rolled into Iraq. I’ll never forget one dawn after a vicious gun battle. We’d just medevaced one of our wounded Marines, and I turned to see a small American flag hanging from a humvee’s antenna. For a second, it reminded me of the line we all know so well: “And our flag was still there.”

I registered as a Republican at 18 and voted for John McCain in 2000. It took seven years of hard experience to get me on this stage. But we cannot afford more of the same. That’s why we need Barack Obama and Joe Biden to lead us beyond the tired divisions of the past. They have the judgment to make the right decisions, leading our military, and uphold our highest ideals.

Everyone who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan has left something: a friend, a limb, a piece of their youth. In those palm groves and on those ridge lines, this is personal for us. I don’t want to retreat; I want to win.

The past seven years have been hard, often heartbreaking. Our flag, however, is still there. Let’s move forward in our quest to live up to the idea of America.

Teresa Brito-Asenap, New Mexico

Buenas noches, good evening.

I am Teresa Brito-Asenap from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first nine years of my life my grandparents worked with me to study and learn. They always talked about the importance of education. But it was not until third grade that I realized that mi abuelita, my grandmother, could neither read nor write.

But because of them, today I hold a doctorate in education. I owe them and my parents everything. Strong families raise strong students. All they need are world-class schools and dedicated teachers. Yet because of George W. Bush and John McCain, our schools don’t have the resources they need to meet the high standards of No Child Left Behind.

We don’t need four more years of the same. We need to turn the page and put our kids at the head of the class. Barack Obama will invest $10 billion a year in early education funding and give any student who wants to go to college a $4,000 tax credit. That’s the change we need and the change Barack Obama will bring as president of the United States.

Arriba y adelante – si se puede!

Pamela Cash-Roper, North Carolina

I’m Pam from Pittsboro, North Carolina. Wait till you hear what’s happening to me.

You might find my story familiar. Maybe it’s happening to you.

My husband, Keith, and I used to have a modest home we could afford, cars, money in a 401(k) plan, health insurance, and our health. We educated ourselves, got good jobs with benefits, worked night and day, raised four happy children, and saved some money.

It was the American dream. We did everything we thought you were supposed to do to live it. We really felt America was working for us.

Then, eight years ago, our American dream turned into a nightmare. Keith needed open-heart surgery. He lost his job and with it the family’s health insurance. I couldn’t afford to pay for health insurance on my nurse’s income, so we don’t have any.

Having no health insurance works – as long as you stay healthy.

Five years after Keith’s surgery, I had a quadruple bypass, and our medical expenses grew.

I’m a lifelong Republican who voted for Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Bush. But I can’t afford four more years like this.

That’s why I am supporting Barack Obama as my president.

Barney Smith, Indiana

My name is Barney Smith.

For most of my life, I was a proud Republican.

Growing up in the Indiana heartland, America was a place of boundless opportunity. You could go to the town factory and get a job the same day. You could start a family and buy a house with your salary.

My father started at Marion’s RCA plant in 1949, manufacturing picture tubes for TV sets.

I started in 1973. My wife worked in a high school cafeteria. Together, we made a living and raised a family.

Then, in 2004, the plant closed. Today, a foreign worker does my job.

After 31 years, I received 90 days’ severance pay and was unemployed.

Thirteen months later, I got a job at a distribution center.

Republicans talk about putting “country first,” but tell that to Marion, Indiana. They sent my job overseas.

America can’t afford more of the same. We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys.

I’m going to put country first by voting Barack Obama for president.

The heartland needs change. And with Obama, we’re going to get it.

Proud of Barack Obama, proud of the party that nominated him and proud of the America that will elect him.

On this day, exactly 45 years ago, my father stood on the National Mall in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln and proclaimed, “I have a dream! ... That one day, this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”

We’re all children of the dream, and he is in all our hearts and minds. But not only that, he is in the hopes and dreams, the competence and courage, the rightness and readiness of Barack Obama.

But my father would be quick to remind us that realizing his dream is not Barack Obama’s job alone. America needs more than a great president to realize my father’s dream. What America needs is a great America.

Let me paraphrase my father: The ultimate measure of a nation is not where it stands in times of comfort and convenience, but where it stands in times of challenge and controversy.

On some questions, cowardice asks, is a position safe? Expediency asks, is a position politic? Vanity asks, is a position popular? But, that something deep inside us called conscience asks, is a position right?

Sometimes we must take positions that are neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; we must take them because they are right!

If we are to be a great democracy, we must all take an active role in our democracy. We must do democracy. That goes far beyond simply casting your vote. We must all actively champion the causes that ensure the common good.

In five short years, when we reflect upon the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, let us look back and celebrate our audacity to redress poverty, commemorate the hope and faith that led us to take charge of our lives and communities, and venerate our dream of life, liberty and happiness, through our renewed commitment to prevent unjust wars from ever being waged.

Then let us look forward to the next 50 years as we stand together, because our potential as a people is limitless. Work together, because our ability to do good in the world is boundless. And live together, because of our values of fairness, full justice, opportunity and the majesty of the dream.

On this, the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington, and in honor of the legacies of my father and of Bobby Kennedy, let us give our nation a leader who has heard this clarion call and will help us achieve the change we still need: Barack Obama.