CNN 2010-01-22

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And since yesterday was the third Monday in January, it was also Martin Luther King Day. For a lot of people, it's a day on, not a day off; a time to give back to their communities. Folks took part in hundreds of service projects across the U.S., from repainting schools to serving food at soup kitchens. People also donated time to charities that are focused on the needs of the earthquake victims in Haiti. Of course, the holiday also honors the man it's named after. And in his hometown of Atlanta, relatives laid a wreath at the tomb of Dr. King. Later in the day, a commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the civil rights leader had served as pastor², paid tribute to his life and legacy³.

All right, to politics: A special election is happening today in the state of Massachusetts. This race is going to fill the U.S. Senate seat that was left open when Senator Ted¹ Kennedy passed away last August, and the result could affect the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. It has been nearly four decades since Massachusetts elected a Republican to the Senate. That streak⁴ may be about to end. Jim Acosta explains why.

Facing a volcano of voter anger, President Obama dashed off to Boston to prevent a Massachusetts meltdown. How important is Tuesday's election here?

If you were fired up in the last elections, I need you more fired up in this election.

So important, the president parachuted into this campaign rally on the first lady's birthday.

"--Happy birthday to you..."

Where we don't want to go right now is backwards⁵, to the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place.

Mr. Obama was out to rescue Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who polls show could actually do the unthinkable for Democrats⁶ and lose Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Kennedy's widow is on hand to support Coakley, who concedes the nation's top issue, the economy, is not on her side.

People deserve to be angry, but we can't let that anger get in the way of remembering where it came from.