Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a plan to create volunteer and service opportunities to help tackle some of the nation's most pressing issues, part of his weeklong focus on patriotism and national service.
"This won't be a call issued in one speech or one program -- I want this to be a central cause of my presidency," Obama said in a speech at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
"We will ask Americans to serve. We will create new opportunities for Americans to serve. And we will direct that service to our most pressing national challenges."
He added, "When you choose to serve -- whether it's your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood -- you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That's why it's called the American dream."
Obama highlighted his time as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side and his stint heading Project Vote, a group that helped register 150,000 new African-American voters in the Illinois city, according to his campaign.
"I wasn't just helping other people. Through service, I found a community that embraced me; citizenship that was meaningful; the direction I'd been seeking. Through service, I discovered how my own improbable story fit into the larger story of America," he said.
Obama highlights plan for national service - CNN.com
Nice to see a Politician appealing to more than the tired old porkbarrel style of politics, the gas tax holiday being the obvious example.
Nice also that the term 'national service' is not subverted to mean just the military.
Obama sounds more like Kennedy than Clinton.