It's Barack, not Barak.

Thanks for the heads up-- typing wayyy too fast today!

It will happen.... they've had captioned videos on the Obama web site for a long time now. http://www.barackobama.com/closedcaptioning/ I with they'd stop reposting things on change.gov multiple times. I keep getting the same things over and over in my feed reader. Probably making small edits that I can't see...

Volunteers for Barak do it here: http://www.captionedmediaforobama.com/

They do have a *separate* web page somewhere that has links to all their captioned videos. I've seen it once, although I can't remember the exact URL right now. It might have been at their old web site (BarackObama.com). But I agree absolutely that this is not adequate: firstly, Deaf people can only find these videos if they know how to find this specific page. ALL videos in ALL locations should have a toggle switch to give ALL viewers the option of turning on the captions without having to hunt down a separate version of the same video. Secondly, it does not appear that all his videos are captioned--yet. I urge people to direct their emails on Deaf- or disability-related issues to Kareem Dale, Obama’s National Disability Vote Director (at kdale@barackobama.com), WITH COPIES TO Anne Hayes, a volunteer on the Obama Disability Policy Committee (at ahayesku@hotmail.com). Kareem Dale should be receptive to requests for a more inclusive approach to video accessibility--but first, enough Deaf people need to send him emails (with copies to Anne Hayes) to get noticed! The more the better! You could make the "Caption Obama's videos!" campaign part of a broader email-writing campaign targeted at Obama. More information about this national and global campaign is in a slide show at or in text at http://wecando.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/disabilities-email-obama/

Here's a letter that I started sending to Obama the day he won the election. I plan to send him this letter everyday of his 4 year administration, until he gets the point. I was so disappointed that his first address to the nation was not captioned. It was like a knife in my heart. Here is my letter: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Dear Mr. President (elect) Obama & Vice-President (elect) Biden, The issue of providing access to government officials and government offices for Americans, who happen to be deaf, must not be allowed to fall into the category of a "special interest". This issue is NOT a special interest, it is a fundamental issue that says, as an American, who happens to be deaf, I have a right to have full access to everything that MY elected officials do and say in the execution of their duties. This means, providing TDD/TTY phone numbers for Americans who happen to be deaf, like your campaign and the Democratic National Committee failed to do throughout the entire election. This means making it law that anytime an elected official appears in public, be it on television or an online video, everything he/she says MUST be captioned, without exception. This means that every government office and every elected official, be it Federal, State or Local, must provide access to their American constituents who happen to be deaf. This means that anytime an elected official appears in public, a Sign Language Interpreter MUST be present. If you held a rally and then someone came in and picked out some people and said, "you can't listen to this speech", you would be outraged, and rightly so -- and not providing access for Americans who happen to be deaf, is tantamount to just that. This means that every single PUBLIC service message MUST be captioned for Americans who happen to be deaf. By way of example, there has been a huge campaign lately on behalf of the American Lung Association, to encourage people to get flu shots. The spots are never captioned. They will not answer me when I ask why. But I know why -- it is a matter of not wanting to spend the money to caption these ads. If this message is important enough to spend that kind of money to get the message out to Americans, isn't it also important enough to spend a little extra to get the message out to Americans who happen to be deaf? Your election, to the highest office in the land, sends a new, clear message to every American child who happens to be Black, that they too can achieve anything they set their mind to. Let your election also send a new, clear message that American children, who happen to be Deaf, can also achieve anything they set their mind to. You told Republicans, "I will be your President too." I need to "see you say” that you will be MY President, too. So today I am posing a question to you: "Will you be MY President too?" I have asked my own elected officials about this issue many times, for many years now. I have received an answer from only one of them who said, "It’s not my problem". I plan to ask you this question every single day of your administration, until you tell me that you will address this issue. There are new ads out now on television, encouraging people to ask their elected officials whatever questions they might have, and DEMAND an answer. (The ads are not captioned.) This is what I plan to do -- demand an answer. ONLY 16 SENATE OFFICES, OUT OF 100, HAVE TDD/TTY LINES. Let me reiterate by saying, this is not a special interest issue. I’m not asking you to caption my favorite movie. I am asking for total access to my government; the access we afford everyone else. Your campaign and the DNC failed every American, who happens to be deaf, this election year by not providing even one TDD/TTY line for us to contact you. Election Protection failed us by not having even one TDD/TTY line, so Americans who happen to be deaf, could get help understanding their rights as voters. Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee failed us again. His first message to the American people after your election was not captioned for Americans who happen to be deaf. You know how disheartening it can be when you are excluded. Your lovely wife mentioned in an interview, how African-Americans have heard “no” for so long, they began to just expect that the answer would always be “no.” (I’m paraphrasing) So you can you imagine how Americans, who happen to be deaf, after standing in line for hours to vote for you – Americans like me, felt when they clicked on Howard Dean's message and saw only his lips moving? “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America.” But unfortunately, there is a “Hearing America” and a “Deaf America” Please help us end this disparity, forever, so that we too can join you in the task of moving America forward. So I would like an answer to my question: “Will you be my President, too?” Sincerely, S. Hayes

i think it is best for everything can use closed caption when it come in different veido because we are overwheeling without the closed caption and we need to think that there is obama but i will email to obama about it closed caption and look at it they will look and explain to her wife michelle explaiin to obama and check on facebook i already add freinds.

You're not the only one. Please see my blog, roselil.blogspot.com and check out the comments. Thanks.

Not sure whether that has only recently been added, but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd8f9Zqap6U has Obama's weekly address with captions. The newer one on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17pz0R_qZo hasn't got them (I assume: yet). I am slightly annoyed that one cannot put comments on the video - that would be the most direct way for feedback.

http://www.youtube.com/captionedforobama has the new one to.