Obama's Speech Tonight

It seems as though Obama has clinched the nomination today and the text of his speech tonight was leaked to the press.

I read it and I have to hand it to his speech-writers.

Jesus Christ.

Just reading the damn thing got me misty eyed. It's a preposterously well laid out speech, it hits all the right notes, invokes all the right imagery and replaces that misty eyed idealism in being an American that we've been missing so much during our Bush led long national nightmare.

His speechwriters certainly have that flair of phrase-turning that makes speeches memorable. I mean, we haven't heard presidential speeches like this since Roosevelt and Kennedy. Hell, even Reagan had a great turn of phrase or two (Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, etc.), but it's nothing next to things like this:

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment -- this was the time -- when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

It's just really well put together.

And could you imagine a bumbling moron like Bush delivering a speech this eloquent without screwing it up? No. You can't.

This doesn't exactly mean I'm voting for him. Nader still is on the ballot and he'll have to do more than deliver a speech to earn my vote, but jeez, this speech goes a long way in that direction.