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Barack Obama - DNC 2008

The Barack Obama Democratic Nomination Acceptance Speech (transcript) was a tour de force last night. Obviously I was already an Obama fan so this is just more drinking of the Kool-Aid™ for me but I don't see how anyone — Conservative, Liberal, Independent, etc — could argue with this:

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

He made sure to not attack McCain on a personal level but rather on a "difference of opinion" level. He pointed out all the elements that have been leveraged against him and set them to rest. He truly is running on a platform of hope and change, something I've yet to see any politician effectively pull off in my 29 years.

Kudos to McCain for the Congratulations commercial and not announcing his VP during the DNC - shows a level of respect that he seems to have lost sight of recently. His choice in Sarah Palin is an interesting one but does little to show that he's even listening to his own messages anymore - she's all the things they condemned the Democrats for.

I tend to shy away from political postings here because they just incite bickering in the comments - a trend that I'm no fan of - but I felt like last night was historic (to me) in a lot of ways.. namely in that it solidified that politicians can exist that I don't think are empty shells reciting rhetoric for election. I actually believe Barack Obama stands for all the things he claims to.

Kool-Aid™ drank.