[Update 22 February 2008: the Obama plan is outlined in full on the site. Barack Obama's Plan for Universal Voluntary Public Service.]

In a 5 December 2007 speech in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Senator Barack Obama outlined an ambitious plan for a voluntary national service plan. Building on many of the existing programs, and proposing several new ones, Obama's plan follows the outline of a series of volunteer programs proposed by Chris Dodd in June.

As a nonprofit booster, I am pleased by the emphasis on nonprofit organization and their social innovations. I wish Senator Obama made his plan mandatory in some way, but see the coherence of this call for voluntary effort and his own campaign.

Below are excerpts of Obama's speech with the specific proposals.