Hello and welcome to a new year. I hope the first month has been a good one for all of you, I know that for me it was very eventful. As many of you know I had a baby in December, his name is Spencer Michael~ born on December 18. All is well, but as you can guess he takes up a lot of my time! Thanks so much to Chris Marovich for his help during my absense.

I wanted to let you all know that despite the tough year we had in '09 we should not give up on our vision of change, and on the leader we know Obama is, we must be more resilient than ever! Please consider coming to one of our two annual meetings next week and share your thoughts on what we can do locally as a part of Organizing for America. We will also be sharing what the National organization is encouraging us to do as well, and discuss where there is common ground. We need to set local goals that we can accomplish!

Please join us - Hope to see you there,
Christa Darlington

We want to hear from you!

Want to know what Organizing for America supporters like you think we should do in 2010?

Watch a short video I recorded detailing the results of our "What's Next in 2010" survey.

In 2009, you channeled the energy from the Presidential campaign -- building local organizations in all 50 states -- to help bring about the change President Obama's election victory gave us the opportunity to seek.

Now, you've given us some great guidance that will help set OFA's course in 2010. Tens of thousands of you returned surveys -- providing us ideas, feedback, and a clear sense of your commitment to help the President.

Watch today:

http://my.barackobama.com/YourThoughtsOn2010

Thanks,

David Plouffe

P.S. -- This Thursday, at 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time, OFA will host "A Conversation with the President" -- a strategy update and Q&A broadcast live on BarackObama.com. Click here to RSVP:

http://my.barackobama.com/ConversationFeb4

Help for Haiti


You can help immediately by donating to the Red Cross to assist the relief effort. Contribute online to the Red Cross, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999." Find more ways to help through the Center for International Disaster Information.

Hope for 2010

So a year has come and gone since the amazing January 2009. How are you feeling today as opposed to 12 months ago? My wife and I, along with several friends from the Placer County area, all met in Washington D.C. to celebrate and witness the inauguration of Barack Obama. That now feels like a very long time ago.

What began in January with the anticipation of, and eventual inauguration of Barack Obama, traveled a pretty difficult path this year all culminating in . . . a new baby boy. The newest family member of our energetic leader, Christa and her husband Jeff. Before anything of a political nature, congratulations to the Darlington family! We can so easily get caught up in the game that is political football, but welcoming a new member of a family is always special.

As expected, 2009 came to a close with the political pundits “grading” the Obama administration. With such headlines as “Angry Votes Look to Government: Do Something!” and Willie Brown grading the President in his weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle with an “incomplete,” the difference between today and 12 months ago is striking. My guess is you feel it too.

But I also recognize it could not be otherwise. First, came the joy and celebration of the election victory (yes, and some relief it was over as well). When that culminated in the amazing and historic inauguration, I guess we were all over due for a reality check – though it sure was fun while the euphoria lasted. My memories of that day and evening still glow.

And then there was everything else that came last year. Unemployment rising, the stock market dropping, housing foreclosures, falling home prices, the California budget, the failing U.S. auto industry, climate change, bailouts, terrorism, and not to be forgotten, the healthcare debate and the caustic atmosphere created this past summer. With all that we traveled through in 2009 it stands to reason our political faith has been challenged.

"Voters are angry; I think they're beyond anger," says Democratic strategist Darry Sragow. "They're desperately unhappy and desperately pessimistic, and they have given up hope. This is beyond malaise." - San Francisco Chronicle, December 28, 2009

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not happy with a lot of what happened in 2009 either. But whether it be economic, political or even personal, malaise will not be a descriptor of my hope for myself, my family, my President, or my country. My reasons, confidence and yes, hope, for participating in Barack’s campaign aren’t that quickly dashed.

This President has been tested on a myriad of levels that few, very few, other presidents have. I still have the firm belief that President Obama is uniquely qualified and is the right person, at the right moment in history, to meet this country’s challenges.

As David Plouffe recently stated in an email to OFA members:

“As we've always known, change this big must come from the bottom up. Organizing for America was founded last year based on your feedback, and OFA supporters are at the core of everything we do. So as we wrap up one year and prepare for the next, we want to hear your reflections on our work together in 2009 and how you want OFA to move forward in the new year.”

I’ll admit 2009 knocked a bit of wind from my sails. But I am looking forward to 2010 and doing my part in staying connected to the issues and doing what I can to make my voice heard. 2010 has too many important challenges facing it not to participate, or worse, give up hope.

Chris Marovich