I am supporting Obama for president for two reasons: one is my disdain for the McCain-Palin ticket, and the other my respect and admiration for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Among Jewish voters, some feel the basic question is which candidate will act in the best interest of Israel. The answer is Barack Obama. As an American Jew who loves Israel, I cannot support John McCain. He cannot provide what Israel needs most–a respected, credible, morally strong America. To have the United States and Israel both regarded by the rest of the world as unreliable and in isolation is no way to solve the problems that plague both countries. This has been the effect of the Bush policies, and these are the policies that John McCain has promised to continue. Barack Obama is the candidate who can restore America’s moral authority in the world and position our government to help negotiate peace.

Read more in The Huffington Post…

“This morning I had the privilege of participating in a Rabbi’s Phone-Bank on behalf of Senator Obama. Over twenty rabbis from all the different denominations gathered together in the spirit of unity to volunteer for Barack Obama’s campaign. As we sat around the dining room table and in various locations throughout a magnificent apartment overlooking Central Park, we laughed and shared experiences from our many phone calls. Personally, I was very encouraged by the enthusiasm that was expressed by the people whom we called. Many were not only voting for Senator Obama; …some volunteered for the campaign to assist in last minute efforts to get out the vote. …Finally, and most exciting for our group of Rabbis, was the appreciation that many people expressed for the fact that Rabbis had taken time out of our busy schedules to volunteer for Senator Obama. If we could do it so could they! I’m already looking for my next phonebank to attend.”

Read more from The Huffington Post…

From The Huffington Post:

Dear Friends and Relations,

A friend and former colleague of mine in the Foreign Service, Kevin McGuire, some time ago drafted a short statement of support for Obama and began to ask retired Foreign Service officers if they would sign it. So far 334 of us have done so, including by my count 66 former American ambassadors.

If you would like to know why we have done so and who we are, you can find our reasons and our signatures at Foreign Policy for Obama.Com: Declaration of Support by Over 280 Former Diplomats. (Ed. note: the number is now over 330.)

You can go to ForeignPolicyforObama.com and click on the link in the left hand column.

I will remind you that the Foreign Service of the United States is our country’s career diplomatic and consular service. We staff both the State Department in Washington and our embassies and consulates abroad. Usually two-thirds or more of our ambassadors are Foreign Service officers, although both Democratic and Republican administrations have made a number of ambassadorial appointments for political reasons. Some of these Republican appointees and, by my count, two former career officers, have come out for McCain.

Over 330 retired foreign service officers, including 66 former American ambassadors, have endorsed Barack Obama for president.

In contrast, according to former American ambassador Peter Bridges, only two former career foreign service officers have endorsed McCain.

Read more at foreignpolicyforobama.com.

Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the United States Senate, is the latest Republican to back Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Pressler is an ardent supporter of Israel.  He sponsored the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which became law in 1999.

Pressler is also a man of the utmost integrity.  He is the only member of Congress to refuse to take a bribe from undercover FBI agents and then to report the bribe attempt to the FBI during the Abscam investigations in 1980.

You can read more about Sen. Pressler’s endorsement at politico.com.

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton, a political independent who is widely credited for his success in dramatically reducing crime rates in Los Angeles and New York, has endorsed Barack Obama for president.  In a recording prepared as an automated telephone message, Bratton states that Obama’s record on policing issues dwarfs McCain’s.  Bratton decided to assist Obama because “Democrats are much more supportive on policing issues.  Republicans are just not good on local policing.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times…

(CNN) - Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary who sharply criticized President Bush in his memoir last spring, told CNN Thursday he’s voting for Barack Obama.”From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping,” McClellan told new CNN Host D.L. Hughley

Read more from CNN…

Hyperbole is the currency of presidential campaigns, but this year the nation’s future truly hangs in the balance.

The United States is battered and drifting after eight years of President Bush’s failed leadership. He is saddling his successor with two wars, a scarred global image and a government systematically stripped of its ability to protect and help its citizens - whether they are fleeing a hurricane’s floodwaters, searching for affordable health care or struggling to hold on to their homes, jobs, savings and pensions in the midst of a financial crisis that was foretold and preventable.

As tough as the times are, the selection of a new president is easy. After nearly two years of a grueling and ugly campaign, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has proved that he is the right choice to be the 44th president of the United States.

Read more from The New York Times…