Emergency ad to end the war

This is the moment of truth on Iraq. The veto we knew would come has arrived. Congress must now make a decision: cave in to Bush and extend the war, or send back a binding plan to end it.

I asked my staff to create an emergency television ad that would bring the people's voice directly to Congress, calling on them to make the right choice. They worked late into the night and we now have a powerful message ready to go on the air in D.C. as soon as tomorrow morning.

But I need your help: We need to raise $100,000 in 24 hours to air this ad. If you want to make sure every member of Congress, their staff, and the national press corps see this message at this critical time, I need you to chip in whatever you can afford right now, at:

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

Is it normal for a presidential campaign to drop everything and focus on pushing Congress to end a war? Maybe not.

Is it normal for you to contribute money online towards running emergency ads in Washington, D.C.? Maybe not.

But we don't have time for normal. We've got a few days—maybe less—to do absolutely everything we can to ensure this Congress responds to Bush's veto by sending another binding plan to end the war.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. I need you to pitch in $5, $50, $500 or whatever you can manage to rush this ad on the D.C. airwaves in the next 24 hours. You can see the ad and make your contribution here:

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

And there's another twist. I wanted this ad to be about the voice of the people. And that means I don't just need your help putting it on the air, I need your voice.

We've designed the ad so you can actually add yourself in online. We hope that dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people will send in video clips of themselves echoing the message of the ad — "We the people" are asking Congress to stand up to Bush.

If you have a video camera, or you can borrow one, please take a minute to send a clip of yourself saying "We the People" that we can put into the online version of the ad—and get your friends to do the same.

You can see the ad, make your contribution, and send in your video clips online at:

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

Seizing this moment and ending this war is going to take every single one of us chipping in and adding our voice. But I believe we're up to the challenge. And with your help, I believe we'll succeed.

Thank you,

--John Edwards