On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Senator Barack Obama accepted the nomination for the Presidency last night in front of 84,000 enthusiastic supporters in the Denver Broncos' stadium and laid out a vision to put this country on the right track after eight years of high unemployment, economic downturn, and dissatisfication with George W. Bush.
We all know Sen. Obama is a great orator. But he gave one of the best political speeches in decades. I can't fathom how Senator John McCain will even touch the level of exuberance and loftiness in his speech. It was full of soaring rhetoric, but laid out several policy details. Some people on the fence may not know that Obama means when he talks about change. After listening to this 47,000-word speech, they should know. His speech was packed with witty anecdotes, specific policies, and sharp attacks on McCain.
"I don't fit the typical pedigree and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington," Obama remarked in his speech. But he also made clear that he can relate to a large swath of the American people. He was raised by a single mom and his grandparents. His grandfather fought in World War II and his grandmother was a bank manager. His mother was on-and-off food stamps because she was in college while raising Barack. After becoming the President of the Harvard Law Review, he foregoed a high-paying job at a big law firm and chose to serve in the Illinois State Senate.
As I mentioned, the speech also had specifics. He said he would cut taxes for the overwhelming majority of working families and roll back the tax cuts of the rich during the Bush years. He said that everyone from Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki to even the Bush Administration is more than open to the idea of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He emphasized focusing on Afghanistan and renewing the fight against Osama bin Ladin. He created a Kennedy-esque promise of making the US energy independent in 10 years by investing $150 billion in alternative energy sources. He said that offshore drilling is a stopgap measure -- not a long-term solution. How can it be, if we consume 25% of the world's oil but only have three percent of its reserves?
What most impressed me was not his vision of post-partisanship, but his sharp attacks on Sen. McCain. Obama accused him of not being in touch with ordinary Americans. He mentioned McCain's gaffe that someone making less than $5 million is not rich, his big tax cuts for corporate America, his employer-paid health care plan, and his attempt of privatize Social Security. He also said that he too picks "Country First", McCain's campaign slogan. It was the most distinct attack on McCain thus far.
Polls have shown that Obama is in sync with most Americans when it comes to the big issues of today: the economy, the War in Iraq, and health care. After Obama's speech, his two young daughters played with confetti. That moment made him seem less like a politician and more like a father. His speech couldn't have been any better than it was.
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