AAPI leader optimistic of Obama win

CHICAGO, Illinois – To reach out to the Asian American voters, the Obama campaign went to great lengths to translate its campaign materials into seven Asian American languages, including Chinese, Hindi, Hmong, Korean, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese. Leaving no stones unturned, the Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for Senator Barack Obama for President headed by E. Charmaine Manansala tapped politicians and celebrities alike to help reach out to voters in typically Republican states. “We remain optimistic about our chances in these typically Republican states because Senator Obama’s message of change and hope appeals not just to Democrats but to Republicans and Independents as well," Manansala said. New Mexico-based Manansala, who is Chicago after spending the last several days leading the campaign in the battleground state of Nevada, said, “Our efforts in Nevada parallel efforts to get out the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) vote nationally. In each of these states, AAPI Obama staffers worked hand-in-hand with hundreds of volunteers to coordinate “AAIP2AAPI" phone banking and door knocking. “Additionally, AAPI politicians like former (Washington State) Gov. Gary Locke, (California) Congressman Mike Honda, and celebrities like Kelly Hu, Kal Penn and “Survivor" winner Yul Kwon have been crisscrossing the country turning out thousands of AAPIs at political rallies." Manansala believes “AAPIs are making a tremendous impact in this presidential campaign. The Obama campaign has hired hundreds of AAPI staffers. Moreover, there are thousands of AAPI volunteering for Barack Obama and Joe Biden nationally. “As a Filipino American, I am proud to serve as the campaign’s director of the AAPI Vote Team. In this role, I helped developed a document called “Blue Print for the Change We Need – Asian American and Pacific Islanders." She said this document describes in detail how Barack Obama intends to serve the AAPI community if he is elected president. “This historic document is the first of its kind and demonstrates how much Barack Obama values our community." The document describes how Obama will help AAPI on issues “that AAPIs most care about – the economy, immigration, health care, seniors, to name a few." Manansala said the number of Filipino and AAPI volunteers in Nevada and elsewhere “is staggering. Many work with the campaign directly and many take the initiative to turn out the AAPI vote on their own." She said her AAPI vote team deputy director is leading the efforts with another Filipino staffer, Joe Montano. The other Filipino-Americans in the team are Melissa Topacio Long, AAPI and Youth Director in Washington State; Jordannah Bangi, heading up the AAPI efforts in Ohio; Victor Zapanta, who does the New Media for the Obama campaign in Florida. Her friend, Ronnie M. Estrada, is also actively campaigning for Obama and as a member of MOVE-ON.ORG in San Jose, California. She said when Obama offered her the paid position as AAPI Team Vote director, “I was deeply honored to join his historic quest for the presidency because I knew that his personal connections to the AAPI community will mean tremendous change for AAPIs across the nation. “This is the first time I’ve led an AAPI outreach effort for a national campaign, and I am honored and privileged to be part of this historic campaign." Manansala believes that Senators Obama and Joe Biden are going to win the elections as the candidates spent the last week of the campaign focusing on the states in the expanding battleground map of this election – Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada and Indiana – all states where Senator Obama’s message of fundamental change is resonating with Americans, who are tired of the old political playbook that John McCain has employed throughout this election. Manansala also reminded Asian American voters that Obama has personal connection to the AAPI communities. Born in Hawai’i – the only AAPI majority state –Obama “knows our communities on a personal level. His sister is half-Asian and she is married to a Chinese-Canadian. “His family reflects the diversity of America and that diversity is one of our greatest strengths. When Barack Obama is elected president, it will forever change the way generations of AAPIs view their government and themselves – because this election is not just about making history… it’s about making possibility." - GMANews.TV