Editor:
As record turnout is sweeping across the nation this primary season, I was swept up in this unprecedented movement that is driving people to the polls. John Kennedy is credited with saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” when speaking about economic conditions. However, that statement, in a political sense, is true now more than ever. There is a rising tide in this country and it’s made up of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike, all calling for change.
While there are many factors that the pundits and pollsters try to point to, the one common denominator that is driving this rising tide is the thirst for real change. And that left me with one important question:
Who is going to be the transformational president; a president who will turn the page and lead our country in this moment of opportunity?
This election may prove to be a unique opportunity for our country to do something truly transformational. And for that reason, I will caucus on Sunday for the candidate who will work to bring about lasting change: Barack Obama.  
Obama represents a course of change for our country like no other candidate has. It’s a course that seeks to end the politics of partisanship. America will be a better place when our leaders stop running elections on the issues that divide us, like issues of guns, God, gays, and abortion, but instead focus on the issues which unite us; healthcare, education, security, protecting our environment, and restoring our stature across the globe. Obama is offering us something new and refreshing. He is giving millions of Americans hope and a reason to be excited about our future again.
I am standing for Barack Obama because I believe in Hope. I believe in Change. I believe that Obama is the right person, at the right time, in the right place to lead us out of the last eight years, and into the next 80.
“We will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea – yes we can!” Senator Obama said after his victory in the Iowa Caucuses last month.
I’m asking other Obama supporters to gather prior to the caucus so that we can meet each other and discuss how best to support our candidate. If you are ready to stand up for change, please join us at Scarborough High School outside the Cafeteria at noon – an hour before the caucus starts.
If you’re not registered as a member of a political party, it’s not too late.  You can register to vote right at the caucus.
The doors to the cafeteria at Scarborough High School will open at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday.  The Town Clerk will be available at 12:15 p.m. to register new voters or change affiliation from independent to Democrat prior to the 1 p.m. start.
Many say that only once in a generation will we have an opportunity to make a statement so strong, so bold, and so important, that our voices will echo to every corner of the globe.
That opportunity is now, and I am ready to lend my voice to the cause. I hope you will join me.
Sean Peter Flaherty
Scarborough