在奥巴马获得总统大选胜利后的各种庆祝会上，许多参加奥巴马竞选的志愿者都在问一个相同的问题，
What's next。大家在几个月的竞选活动中，为了一个共同的目标-选举奥巴马做美国总统-而相识、相聚，共享担忧和喜悦。遇到困难、挫折，彼此拍拍肩膀，互相鼓励不泄气；听到好消息，就彼此HIGH FIVE，拥抱祝贺。在竞选结束后的第一个正式聚会上，大家恋恋不舍，都说，最MISSED 就是周五晚上确认周末竞选活动的电话。我们社区的TEAML EADER答应大家会设法保持联系，维持基层的志愿者组织。一个多月前，我们的TEAM LEADER 参加了奥巴马总部的全国电话会议。由于奥巴马总部接到许多来自各地志愿者组织的询问，经过一段时间的经验教训总结和民主党内咨询、协商，决定在竞选志愿者组织的基础上成立一个新的组织，利用竞选的成功经验，发展、依靠基层组织，来推动奥巴马政府的政策方针。组织暂定的名字为 Obama For America，简称OFA。希望各地的基层组织可以建立联系，重新行动起来。一个议题是征求对美国面临的种种挑战的看法与建议，另一个议题是在总统宣誓就职前，组织适应当地情况的服务项目，用实际行动来庆祝奥巴马政府的新开端。
天天听到有关经济形势的坏消息，早就有不少人在摩拳擦掌，希望能做些具体的事情，帮助当地社区和需要得到帮助的人。这真是一拍即和。
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周末，有100 多人参加了“务虚会”，对当前面临的挑战提了不少问题与建议，希望奥巴马政府能够考虑，并进一步阐明政策，改进与基层组织的交流。
TEAM LEADER 向大家保证，会把这些意见和建议反馈上去。接着，大家讨论并达成共识，响应奥巴马的号召，准备在庆祝马丁路德金生日纪念日的周末，举行与公共卫生和为当地福利团体征集食品有关的社区服务活动。
经过一番策划和组织，联系了当地的红十字会和若干家与公共卫生有关的政府机构与团体，并得到一家旅馆的赞助支持，在周六举行了“Health & Hunger" 的活动。
筹办者都是奥巴马的铁杆支持者
尽管天气很冷，还是有近上百人参加。
参与的公共卫生有关的政府机构与团体
旅馆无偿提供设施和服务，很支持
有32 人献了血，超出了红十字会的准备，不得不告诉后来的献血者等候另行通知。
也为当地的 Food bank 征集了十多箱捐献的食品。
尽管在总统大选过程中，几位共和党的总统候选人多次取笑奥巴马的社区组织者的经历，认为他不俱备做美国总统的经验。但正是因为奥巴马有当年在芝加哥参与社区组织建设的经历与经验，使他这个名不见经转的年轻黑人政治家不但在民主党初选中击败了呼声很高的希拉莉而获民主党的总统提名，奥巴马的竞选总部在全国各地建立的志愿者组织，在助选的人力物力与策略上，更令麦肯恩无法望其项背。
奥巴马在建立基层组织与发挥基层组织在政党政治中的作用方面，开创了美国政治的先例。在竞选中遇到的不少志愿者都是第一次参与竞选活动，提到的原因之一就是觉得奥巴马接近民众，愿意倾听不同的见解/意见。奥巴马作为一个杰出的政治家的与众不同的特色是，他认识到民众的意愿与力量，他的CHANG 的口号是那样地顺应潮流，民心。现在，奥巴马作为美国总统在政治经济方面都面临着前所未有的挑战，他的扭转乾坤的力量，不仅来自于他的出色的智囊团，行政班子，也来自于他对民众的信念，信任，信赖。
And yet, as I stand here today, what gives me the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us today, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you -- Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there.
It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everyone together -- Democrats, Republicans, independents; Latino, Asian and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not -- then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.
This is what I believed, but you made this belief real. You proved once more that people who love this country can change it. And as I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day when I walk into that Oval Office -- the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes; who ask only for what was promised us as Americans -- that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.
--奥巴马 在 JANUARY 17, 2009 We Are One Concert 上的讲话摘要--
(http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/18/raw-data-obamas-speech-lincoln-memorial-concert/)
当成千上万的人一起呼喊“YES，WE CAN！”时，那情景让人震动，鼓舞，振奋，难忘。如果数百万的人把“YES，WE CAN！”付诸于实际行动，他们不但可以选出美国的第一位黑人总统，他们也必将扭转这个国家的方向，改变国家和自己的命运。
It is the time， 历史的时刻，历史的使命，不但对奥巴马总统，也是对每一个人。
新的组织正式称为 Organizing For America。
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGNgacysHg&eurl=http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/obama_for_american_becomes_org.php&feature=player_embedded
Obama For America Becomes Organizing For America
17 Jan 2009 11:36 am
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- The Obama political machine is merging with the Democratic National Committee.
The President-elect launched Obama 2.0, or Organizing for America, this morning with a YouTube video.
An Obama political aide said that OFA will be housed at the Democratic National Committee, resolving a longstanding debate about whether the entity should be separate.
A press release prepared by OFA calls the organization "the next phase" of the Obama organization, and will offer "volunteers the continued opportunity to work for change in their communities by organizing in support of reform in Washington."
"As President, I will need the help of all Americans to meet the challenges that lie ahead. That's why I'm asking people like you who fought for change during the campaign to continue fighting for change in your communities. Since the election hundreds of thousands of you have shared your ideas about how this movement should move forward, and we've listened carefully," Obama says in the video.
The announcement follows month of debate among Obama's political aides about how best to leverage his record-shattering campaign organization as a tool to help Obama in office. Legal questions, too, arose about coordination between the Democratic National Committee and the campaign entity, which possesses the 13-million person e-mail, telephone and contact list that powered Obama's political activity.
More than 500,000 Obama supporters completed post-election surveys. According to the press release, "A clear majority believe that organizing in support of President-elect Obama's agenda should be the most important goal for the organization. Organizing for America will partner with Governor [Tim] Kaine and the DNC."
Campaign aides Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Jeremy Bird and Mitch Stewart form triumvirate at the head of this new behemoth.
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/obama_for_american_becomes_org.php
