Another Member of California State Senate Leadership--Leland Yee--Endorses Obama for President

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Leland Yee, Ph.D.
Assistant President pro Tem
California State Senate

As someone who was proud to support John and Elizabeth Edwards and their fight to bring about one America, I am equally proud that we have another outstanding candidate in Barack Obama who can bring about the change that is necessary in our country.

Senator Obama is the only candidate who has the credentials, integrity, commitment, and the ability to inspire that our country needs. As Senator Ted Kennedy said last week, "With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion. With Barack Obama we will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay."

Whether it be the misguided war in Iraq, America’s ruined reputation in the world, the dropped ball in Afghanistan, the ignored genocide in Darfur, the botched response to Katrina, or the millions of Americans who are hungry, jobless or in need of healthcare, the Bush Administration has failed this country. Now, more than ever, we need the leadership of Barack Obama and his ability to unite all Americans.

Barack Obama has delivered us a message of hope and has been able to motivate young people, independents, and those who have felt disengaged and cynical about politics their whole lives.

After winning in Iowa, he said, “Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire; what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation; what led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom's cause. Hope-hope-is what led me here today - with a father from Kenya; a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.”

Senator Obama has found a way to move us beyond the pettiness that has plagued Washington. He has brought together people of all backgrounds and energized a generation of Americans that has never felt such optimism. He has reached out to Democrats and Independents alike and shown that he can unite us all – a strategy that is essential for our Democratic victory in November.

This presidential election is not just about putting a new occupant in the White House; it is about changing the entire political system to best serve the hopes and aspirations of all Americans. Barack Obama is the best candidate to make that change.

Leland Yee is a member of the California State Senate Democratic Leadership team and the Assistant President pro Tem of the Senate. Senator Yee is also a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.