Barak Obama is calling for a new direction in his 'Vote for Me' message to members or Democracy for America. DFA has asked all Democratic nominees to submit a message as part of their Presidential Pulse Poll.

The text of Obama's message follows:

Dear Friends,

Like most Americans, you know we need a new direction in this country.

The end of the Bush-Cheney Administration will be a major step in the right direction. But it will take more than a change of parties in the White House to repair the damage they've done.

George Bush and Dick Cheney have turned special-interest politics into an art form, but they didn't invent it. It was there before they got to Washington, and if you and I don't stand up and challenge it, it will be there long after they leave.

We need to turn the page on that kind of politics.

The people who benefit from politics as a game are counting on you to walk away. But I need you to get involved.

I'm not just asking you to trust in my ability to change this country -- I'm asking you to trust in yourself, in your own instincts, and in your own sense of possibility.

I'm asking you to bet on us, on our capacity to do what previous generations have done -- to lift our sights, to join together, to forge a better future for our children and grandchildren.

Everywhere we've gone we've seen huge crowds hungry for change. We saw 10,000 in Iowa City, 20,000 in Austin, 20,000 in Atlanta, and nearly 25,000 in New York.

These crowds tell me that when it comes to what's wrong with this country, the American people are not the problem. The American people are the answer.

In the face of the most entrenched political machine in Democratic politics, I believe a movement of ordinary Americans can change our country.

Hope and change are not just the rhetoric of a campaign for me. Hope and change have been the causes of my life.

In the face of a politics that's shut us out and told us to settle, I believe we can be one people, reaching for what's possible, building that more perfect union.

I hope you'll join me.

Thank you,

Barack Obama