From the ArcaMax Publishing, Politics Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/politics/s-372651-906295
COLORADO SPRINGS (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama urged his audience
"to do your part" and volunteer for national service, pledging to
expand opportunities for those who heed his call.
The call for volunteerism is part of Obama's campaign on themes and in
areas that are traditionally Republican strongholds, The Washington
Post reported Thursday. Obama spoke of patriotism in Missouri, pledged
to grow federal assistance to faith-based service groups in Ohio and
called for national service in Colorado.
"That's what history calls us to do, because loving your country
shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. Loving
your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part
to change it," the likely Democratic presidential nominee told an
audience at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Obama's $3.5 billion-a-year plan, among other things, would expand the
AmeriCorps and Peace Corps programs, create an Energy Corps for energy
and environmental-cleanup projects, and offer $4,000 to college
students for 100 hours of public service.
Several normally Republican states have changed politically, the
Illinois senator said, which could benefit Democrats in the general
election, The New York Times reported.
Obama told a crowd at a fundraiser he and former President Bill
Clinton discussed the changing political landscape in states such as
Colorado.
"He said, 'When I ran the first time, it would have been tough to win
if (third-party candidate) Ross Perot hadn't been in the race, but
you've seen a seismic shift in attitudes here,'" Obama said.