Senator Barack Obama,

I realize that you have already endured much since the start of your campaign for the presidency. Along with the grueling schedules, lack of sleep, and time away from your family, you have had to deal with being the target of racial slurs, hateful jokes, untrue attacks on your faith, and even slander against your loved ones. All of us who support your bid for president and many of those who do not condemn such unethical political trash.

I call upon you to recognize in these difficult times that the Obama campaign belongs to its supporters. It belongs to all of us. We want to support what we have seen in you. Maybe it was something we read in one of your books, a rousing speech you made at a huge rally, or a small commitment you expressed in a more personal setting. Regardless, we all found something to believe in that we share. We found a hope for something better in the potential that you contain and in what we have seen from your best moments. Do not forget this. Even when you falter you must still be committed to the steady course of something new, something positive, and something which makes you capable of inspiring and leading millions.

This needs to be said in light of McCain deciding recently that there is only one way for him to defeat you: by drawing you into his mud. Unable to rally the enthusiasm and hope that you stir in people McCain has decided instead to take the low road and lash out at you for inspiring so many to believe in and work for change in their country. These are McCain's politics, do not let them become yours. Our country does not need a second McCain campaign, we need something different, something new, and something better.

I am not asking you to be soft and avoid holding people accountable, asking tough questions, or defending yourself from lies. I am asking you to not be drawn into the negative campaigning that your opponent so wishes to see you engage in. There is a difference between hard politics and dirty politics. Do not become a mudslinger instead of a "hope monger". Many of us want something different and you are our best hope for that. Please Sen. Obama, do not walk into the politics of anger and spite.


--- One of your inspired supporters