“The change we need doesn’t come from Washington, the change comes to Washington.”

Don’t miss your appointment with the ballot on Tuesday, Nov 4.

Some of you may know that I’m a photographer. It is my great passion. There is no better why to capture history and to tell a story than with a camera.

Recently I was sent a link to a photographers website that that I consider to be one of the best examples for photojournalism. The photographer is Scout Tufankjian. She is a Brooklyn-based photographer who is considered the official photographer for the Barack Obama campaign. Because of her access, she has been able to capture the full scope of Obama on the campaign trail.

As Election Day nears, I wanted to share these inspiring images. On the left hand side of the home page is the navigation to the various portfolios. If you want to know why people are excited about Barack Obama, click the link for “Obama Supporters” at the bottom of the list.

The haters and naysayers think it’s the “Kool-Aid.” But it is really about common sense, hope for a positive future and a “united” United States of America (all inclusive of regardless of our viewpoints). I much prefer a leader that is positive and motivating than someone who operates using fear.

So, enjoy the work of Scout Tufankjian and don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, Nov 4. Oh, and make my Kool-Aid grape.

As we know, John McCain decided to “suspend” his campaign because of the economy. He needs to get back to Washington to help solve the problem. Now I understand needing to be there for this important vote, but that’s just a plane ride away.

He also wants to postpone the first debate with Barack Obama. Hmmmm… Sounds like a student trying to get out of taking an exam. Does he need a little more time to study? The bad thing about “postponing” the debate is that we don’t have much time left until the election. And as Sen. Obama said, now is the time people really what to hear what the candidates have to say about how they will handle this mess that will inherited by one of them. I know I’ve been looking forward to hearing something besides the negative ads McCain has been flooding the NJ area with. I want to see them go toe to toe on the hard questions. If this week’s debate gets canceled, and the timeline gets too tight to reschedule, one of the four debates will have to be dropped. Guess which one will get the ax? I’ll give you one guess—it won’t be one of the three presidential debates. Now, if I were a conspiracy theorist I might think that was the plan all along—another GOP campaign strategy to protect Sarah Palin from the hard questions. See my previous post, Campbell Brown Says, Free Sarah Palin.

But, if suspending his campaign and requesting to put off the debate weren’t enough, it seems the worst thing McCain could have done was blow off his scheduled appearance on the David Letterman Show. I really think Letterman was a bit pissed. He couldn’t stop talking about it for the whole show.

So Dave, tell us how you really feel…

I endorse him and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me. –Hillary R. Clinton, June 7, 2008

Hillary definitely fought a good fight—you gotta give her that. A year ago, I was a Hillary supporter. When she first ran for NY Senator, I volunteered and made phone calls on her behalf. However, former President Bill Clinton got involved and began to stir things up in the wrong direction. That is when I switched my vote.

Her concession speech (finally) was, I think, as gracious as could be expected by someone who initially seemed to have this nomination locked up. I think she did a great job of getting her position across to her supporters. There were a few boos when she initially mentioned her support for Barack Obama, but they soon fell silent.

It is unfortunate that there are some Democrats that will opt to vote for John McCain, (and that is their prerogative as citizens of the USA) or, they will choose not to vote at all. But, this country can’t take another four years of Bush politics—a war that we shouldn’t have started; gas prices out of control; and an economy that is in the pits. Yes, I think McCain will only bring us more of the mess we have had to deal with in the last eight years. Let’s just hope that we can finally have some positive change that will move this country in the right direction.

It is wonderful to live in a country where an African American man and a woman can both throw their hats in the ring and conduct strong campaigns for the highest elected office. But we still have a long way to go. It will be a great day when a person’s skin color or gender won’t be a big deal. Until that day comes and in the meantime, God Bless America.