Da Bomb
No, this isn't referring to one of the deadliest days we've seen in Iraq in a long time. I'm talking about the newest star in the Democratic firmament: Barack Obama. Before we watched his keynote speech last night, Parie was a bit dubious of all the hype. I was trying to keep an open mind, not having seen him in full rhetorical mode before. But I had hope.

And after the speech, both Parie and I were convinced that this guy has a good shot to be a major player in the Democratic party. He's very Clintonian, in both style and substance, and he's got a commanding oratory presence.

Obama positions himself as a centrist in the Clinton mold. He speaks proudly of his grandfather marching in Patton's army and his grandmother assembling bombers. "People will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency—or the Pentagon," Obama adds, earning an ovation. "Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach kids to learn."

Obama understands what Clinton understands and Kerry doesn't: how to disarm the liberal stereotype sharply and quickly, allowing the audience to hear the compelling part of the liberal message. But only half of this pivot is Bill Clinton's strategy. The other half is Bill Cosby's substance. Children can't advance until we "eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white," Obama warns. The crowd erupts in approval.

And he channelled a bit of MLK to boot:

"If there's a child on the South Side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child," Obama said. "If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab-American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper -- that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. 'E pluribus unum.' Out of many, one."

Obama contrasted his vision with those who would divide the country. "The pundits like to slice and ice our country into red states and blue states; red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats," he said. "But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states and have gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

It'll be interesting to watch him in the Senate, to see if he can put together an even grander vision and message than just building on the past (something which certainly isn't a bad thing right now, since it seems we've taken a few steps backwards with the Bush administration).