Anybody catch the Obama speech after he took the Iowa Democratic Caucus? I think it was one of the most memorable, most important political speeches I've ever heard - and I've been leaning towards Clinton for the last few months just out of a sense of Macchiavellian practicality.
Obama's speech touched on non-partisanism, healthcare, change and a lot of the memes that he's been trading on, but when he said "They said this day would never come," it was Martin Luther King I was really thinking of. For the first time in history a black man won a presidential primary - and a primary in a fairly conservative all-white state. I only wish Dr. King could still be alive to have seen this - I was moved.
I really didn't expect him to win, and I don't know what happens in New Hampshire and the bigger states that come later. But watching Obama, I felt something I really haven't felt for a long time. Something beyond the "kick the bastards in the stones" joy of bare-knuckle politics. It was inspiring, and it did feel like hope.
Posted by case at January 3, 2008 11:07 PM