The Democratic National Convention may have been John Kerry's party, but he wasn't the only who brought excitement to Boston's Fleet Center. Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, a rising star in the Democratic Party, wowed delegates on the second day of the convention. The Harvard-educated son of a Kenyan man and a white American woman, Obama spoke of his parents' struggles and his own journey into politics. He also reminded the crowd that despite our different backgrounds, Americans must focus on what can bring us together. "There is no conservative America and liberal America," he said. "There is the United States of America." P. Diddy, as part of his Citizen Change movement, caught up with Obama at the convention to talk about the future of the country and how young people can play a role in it.

P. Diddy: Please introduce yourself to the young men and women of America.

Barack Obama: Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, candidate for United States Senate.

Diddy: Your becoming a black Democratic Senator, this is a big deal.

Obama: Absolutely. We have 100 United States senators from across the country, and right now not one is African-American. So part of what we hope to do is to break that barrier, make sure African-Americans, Latinos and more women are included in the process, because the U.S. Senate makes decisions about a lot of stuff: war and peace, what we do with our tax dollars, etc.

Diddy: The reason that I bring it up as a big deal is that it's proof that the voting process can work. If minorities and young people get involved, the disenfranchised who don't usually vote can make changes and can change the face of politics. Do you agree?

Obama: Oh, absolutely. Listen, you're a motivating force for young people all across the country, your music moves people, you are a trendsetter. Part of what we want to do is to make sure that we are setting a trend in terms of political participation. Music, fashion -- all that's important. But what people also have to understand is that when our young men and women go to war, someone has made that decision. And it's typically going to be young people [who are sent to fight]. Whether you work at Mickey D's or you're producing records, your tax dollars are going somewhere. Young people have to be involved in that decision-making process so that their interests are looked after.

Diddy: There are disenfranchised young voters who feel like their vote doesn't mean anything. [They say], "Why should I vote? They don't care about me. They don't talk my language. They don't listen to me." Can you tell them why it's important for them to vote this year?

Obama: Well, this is going to be a critical year. We still have wars going on overseas. Young people are the people who get sent to war. It's not old people who get sent to war. You've got a situation right now where a lot of young people can't afford to go to college because they don't have money. Well, that money is being spent on things that aren't as useful to our society, [and if it weren't, it could] help young brothers and sisters all across the country. And so the decision-making process is one the young people have to be involved in. It's also a way of asserting your power. You don't want to give away your power any more than you want to give away your money. You wouldn't give away your money to just anyone who walked down the street, but when you give away your vote, you are giving away a little bit of power that you have to influence the things around you.

Diddy: One of the biggest things I get is that young people feel that things aren't getting better. They feel that all this talk, all these speeches, all these conventions, all these parties, it all sounds good but it's not gonna affect me, it's not gonna affect my life. Minorities living in the inner cities, Watts, the south side of Chicago, Detroit, New York, Brooklyn, Queens, you know, Miami, Opa Locka, you know, the 'hoods all around the world feel that things aren't changing. "Puff, you keep talking till you're blue in the face. Puff, you blinging. You living in the Hamptons, we don't want to hear that." I feel you, so what do you want to say to those disenfranchised young voters that really need the help, that really need the change and keep hitting me with those questions. I'm here for some answers.

Obama: Things aren't going to change overnight, and people are still going to have to be responsible for themselves. So it's going to be important for our young brothers and young sisters to get an education when they can, to focus and discipline on their dreams and how they move them forward. No one is going to solve everyone's problems. And so people still gotta have some initiative. But it makes a difference once you've decided that you are going to take responsibility for having these big dreams that someone is there to give you a helping hand. And it makes a difference if the government is giving you a little bit of help, or not a lot of help. We've got a lot of ex-offenders in Chicago, on the south side of Chicago. Brothers who are coming out of prison, they need job training, they want a better life for themselves. But if they can't get a skill, or they can't get their GED, because there is no money because that money got used in Iraq, then they're gonna give up. There are a lot of brothers who have a substance-abuse problem, but if they can't get into a treatment program because the money is wasted, then they are not going to be able to focus. So you've got to take your own initiative just like you did and just like I did, but government can be a little bit of help, and your vote will determine whether the people in government will care about what you care about or what the fat cats will care about. And that's what voting is all about.

Diddy: Let me say to you right now while you are in front of me, sir, that right there makes sense. I have been hearing a lot of bullsh-- today, I have been disenfranchised all day, because I've been asking questions and they're not answering my questions. This is how young people feel. When you want to be president of the United States, you call [me]. ... You're making sense to me. I am franchised, I'm not disenfranchised no more. We gotta keep it nonpartisan, but we gotta applaud when someone is making sense. We've been all around, all over, speaking to politicians, and this is what we call real talk.

Obama: Thank you. And I just want to say how much I appreciate Puff Daddy for doing the kind of work that he's doing, because he doesn't have to do this, but this is part of what is important about giving back. And all of us have something to give as a contribution. There are a lot of brothers and sisters out there who are doing well but aren't thinking about the people who are left behind. And if you can't reach back and pull some folks up with you, then you shouldn't be in the position that you are in right now.

Diddy: One last thing. It's neck-and-neck right now between Kerry and Bush. The youth vote and the minority vote have a lot of power. Can you express to them the power of that vote and what it means with only 12 weeks to go? Make them understand the power of their vote and what it means right now to be neck-and-neck, and the power they have in their vote right now.

Obama: Well, just remember what happened in Florida. George Bush won the presidency, he thinks, based on just a tiny margin of votes. If just a few thousand more people vote in Florida, you've got an entirely different direction of the country, we probably don't go into Iraq, we're probably spending more money on schools, more money on job training, more money on ex-offenders -- all that stuff makes a difference. You folks can make a difference right now. And like I said, don't let people over promise what you can do through politics, it's not going to solve the problems of the world, but it makes a little difference and it doesn't take that much effort. You get registered, you vote, it takes 15 minutes. And if you can't spend 15 minutes on deciding what your community is going to look like, and what your country is going to look like, then you don't have any cause to complain.

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