Since my $10.00 contribution to the Obama campaign was mentioned in a Washington Post article (A Foundation Built on Small Blocks; Growing Internet Use Helps Obama to a Wide Base and a Money Lead; Washington Post; July 16) I have received many comments on being a cheapskate for donating so little. In addition, some assume that since I am a writer, the story was not genuine. I assure you, I have never met or spoken to Barack Obama, and never knowingly talked to anyone from the campaign.

Yes…I am a writer…but I’m also a wife, mother, and Christian, who is very concerned about the direction the country is heading. I DO believe that we must use the talents we’ve been given for the common good. Mine is writing—so here it goes:

I am not cheap…I am just an average middle class American trying to make it. My husband and I are both self-employed and part of the disappearing middle-class in this country. These are my issues and why I’m getting involved in this campaign:

1. Our health care premiums are astronomical and keep rising!

2. It takes a lot more for me to fill the tank in my 1998 minivan, and I now have to plan my trips.

3. Heating and cooling our house is costing more as the temperatures seem more extreme, and I’m beginning to think there’s something to this Global Warming idea.

4. I have a diabetic Mom who’s barely getting by on Social Security, and every now and then, I like to treat her to a meal or a new dress.

5. I have elderly relatives who can’t afford caregivers and I worry what will happen to them in the years ahead.

6. My son will be going to college next year and we worry about paying college tuition (which is also rising).

7. My 8 year old is in a public school system that is more concerned with test scores than learning.

8. I don’t feel real comfortable with our homeland security seeing as though we couldn’t rescue people from rooftops in a non-war situation.

9. I am mad at all of those Democratic leaders who didn’t stand up to Bush regarding the war…. and now they want to yell about how wrong it is.

There is more, but I think you get the point.

So, yes maybe I am a cheapskate. These days I don’t have a lot of disposal income and the $10.00 I gave came out of my mom’s budget. In the article, I said the money means one less trip to a fast-food restaurant, but that’s not quite true, because it costs more than $10.00 for my kids and I to eat there these days.

I am ready for a change and that’s what Obama represents to me. I think he is sensible, intelligent, and will put America back on the right tract.
As I said….I am part of the disappearing middle class in this country. I have a feeling there are a lot more like me out there. We give small amounts because that’s all we have to give.

I will do my best to make sure our voices are heard!

Linnie Frank Bailey
a.k.a. cheapskate