Week in Review

June 11 – June 17, 2007

Barack Obama Schedule: Barack Obama joined volunteers in Dubuque, Iowa on Saturday to kick off the “Walk for Change,” a national day of action in all 50 states. He will discuss his plan for a national low carbon fuel standard in California on Tuesday and return to South Carolina next weekend.

Michelle Obama Schedule: Michelle Obama is campaigning with her husband and two daughters, Malia and Sasha, in California on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, she and her children will be traveling to Las Vegas, where she’ll kick off the Nevada chapter of Women for Obama.

Walk for Change: On Saturday, more than 10,000 Obama supporters took to the streets in all 50 states for a nationwide neighborhood walk. Supporters from all different backgrounds took part in more than 1000 events including “Walk for Change” events in Utah, Alaska and Hawaii. "Walk for Change" was the Obama campaign’s second nationwide grassroots day of action where participants reached out to members of their communities to recruit volunteers and began to build a local organization to elect Barack Obama.

Iraq: Barack Obama has a plan to end the Iraq war by commencing a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq with the goal of redeploying all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that U.S. forces will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

Recent Developments: Barack Obama was disappointed that the Senate did not pass comprehensive immigration reform last week. He worked hard to fix the bill by introducing three amendments. The first would review the newly proposed points system after five years. The points system proposal never received a public hearing and would be a departure from established immigration law that protected families. He also introduced an amendment that would revise the bill so it prioritized keeping families together. He also proposed changing the new employment verification system so it would identify when people were not legally eligible to work but would not lead to discrimination.

Last week, Barack Obama introduced a bill that would make voter intimidation and election fraud punishable by law. He also introduced a bill that would establish Teaching Residency Programs to better prepare teachers before they enter the profession, increase teacher supply where they’re needed most, and provide continuing training and support at the beginning of a teacher’s career.

Fundraising: Most political fundraisers are hosted by Washington lobbyists and filled with representatives of special interests. But this campaign is different. Our funding comes from a movement of Americans giving whatever they can afford, even $5.

In the next week, four of these supporters will be selected by the campaign for a dinner with Barack Obama. Those interested in contributing online can click here <https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dinnerforfive?source=20070606_ND> .