Post by Joseph M -

See Hannah's original post here.

When President Obama won the 2008 election, Seattle took to the streets.  And I also joined the throngs of thousands of people who celebrated downtown and up on Capitol Hill.  I remember feeling encouraged and excited to be a part of the community of Americans who had joined together to make the victory possible.  I felt the energy and motivation of a newly called missionary - all I needed was the rallying call of the President to tell me what needed to be done, and I would be there.  All of us Obama supporters seemed to be of the same mind; tell us what needs to be done - lead us into battle - and we will heed the call.  However, clear direction never came.  The recession hit like a hurricane, and President Obama became entangled in a health care battle with congress that left many of us wondering what our part in this fight might be.

This election, President Obama has the opportunity to continue to engage with his supporters and the electorate in ways that go beyond 2008.  Obama for America is still sending emails - of course not in the volume we saw during the campaign when a request for donations hit the inbox several times a day.   But this new campaign allows each of us to stay involved with the President's agenda during this lame duck session and also during his second term.  We Mormons for Obama may see life as going "back to normal" after the frenzied election season.  Conversations may shift away from the hope and change possible during this second term, and like 2008, we may be unsure of how we can continue to support President Obama.  I am not sure I have all of the answers, but I do know that we can stay involved by responding to the President's requests for support (whether that is writing to congressional leaders or sharing our support for President Obama's policies on Facebook or on our blogs.)

Here are two articles from that discuss the ongoing effort by Obama for America to promote the President's positions on the upcoming fiscal cliff.  The first if from TheHill.com; the second is from NPR.org

This is an excerpt from an email circulating from the Obama campaign this past week:

More than 1 million supporters took our survey last week, sharing feedback on their 2012 campaign experience and how they'd like to see us move forward. While we're still sorting through all of the responses, I wanted to share some initial results:

-- An overwhelming majority of survey respondents reported feeling welcomed and included, that their time was used effectively, and that there was a clear understanding of how their work directly helped re-elect President Obama.
-- Among those of you who volunteered at least a few hours, a majority went into a field office, though many of you got involved instead through the campaign's online tools such as Dashboard and the call tool. 
-- About 1 in 10 survey respondents are interested in running for office at some point, using their organizing skills to continue fighting for real and lasting change. That level of political engagement is inspiring.
-- Almost half of all survey respondents forwarded campaign emails, and more than one-third communicated with friends on Facebook -- both great ways to pass along information about the President's positions and plans, as well as opportunities to get involved.
-- Nearly 80 percent of survey takers want to keep volunteering, primarily around the President's legislative agenda.

Also included was this quotation from a supporter in Texas: "Don't let the energy of the re-election slip through your fingers. This is a very powerful network of people."  And this expresses how I felt in 2008 and how I feel now.  Check out barackobama.com to learn about the issues and tasks at hand and the ways that we can be involved.  I am hopeful that we Mormons can stay engaged in the change we hope to see in our country, whether on a national or local level.  Let's continue to follow the words recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants to stay anxiously engaged in a good cause; let's continue to move forward.