"America's political story is studded with such addresses -- historical signposts that divide that which went before from all that followed on an issue of crucial national importance. Franklin Roosevelt's "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech fundamentally changed Americans' expectations of their government in times of social and economic crisis. John F. Kennedy's address on Catholicism and politics to the Greater Houston Ministerial Assn. in 1960 forever altered the way we think about religion and public office. Sen. Barack Obama, another lanky lawyer from Illinois, planted one of those rhetorical markers in the political landscape Tuesday, when he delivered his "More Perfect Union" speech in Philadelphia, near Independence Hall...instead of offering a simple exercise in damage control, Obama chose to place his discussion of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright's incendiary comments in a wider consideration of race in America -- and the results were, like those Kennedy achieved in Houston, historic..."
All the bloggers were posting it. All the news shows were showing it. The younger lawyer and I? He and I were discussing it. But I had yet to see it. I took no time to read it. And my ears had yet to catch the rhetoric. But I knew, I just knew that I needed to experience it. I just had to, had to, read it. This morning when I grabbed the paper, my eyes widened with delight. Barack Obama front and center, investigative reporting beneath him to the left, primo quote from his speech beneath him to the right. I had to leave the paper home so that others could take some time to read, but rest assured it was in the back of my head all day. I knew, just knew, that a transcript of the speech would be embedded somewhere deep in the paper. And it was. Page A10. Barack Obama at the podium front and center, investigative article beneath him to the left, transcript of "A More Perfect Union" beneath him to the right. Between sets I picked up the paper, back and forth, forth and back. Maybe it was the exercise and the blood flowing through my veins? Or maybe it was the emotional clarity pouring from the speakers courtesy of Lupe Fiasco's The Cool? But I finished that damn speech, took a step back, and felt a lump in my throat. It moved me in its simplicity; it got me; struck a nerve; And I'm glad it finally hit me, cause it was definitely something I had needed to hear...
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