Obama wins

Barack Obama has clinched the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for President. Hallelujah, Amen. Wow.

I would describe this as a dream come true, except that I don't think I ever dreamed this. Until Obama actually started running, and I started supporting him, I never even considered the possibility of an African-American running for President, certainly not at this point in American history. I thot I had been through a transformative experience when Bill Clinton was elected, but that was nothing like what I have experienced so far with Obama, and the general election campaign has barely begun.

This is one of those very rare moments when you almost stop worrying about anything else and just let yourself enjoy history in the making. When pessimism is not allowed, when cynicism lets down its guard. For this moment, many things are right with the world.

I haven't had a chance to watch all of the speeches from the three candidates, but I watched part of each. One thing in particular impressed me about Obama. At the beginning of his speech, he says a few words, tightens his lips, and then just stands there, solid as a rock, letting the crowd go wild. Incredible self-control, and absolute mastery of the moment.

I caught the intro to Hillary's speech and skimmed the text. It sounded very much like a standard stump speech. Just a smidgen odd, that. And what was up with inviting people to log on to her Web site and give her suggestions? I think she's got it backwards. Listening to your supporters is usually a good idea, but this moment demands a decision that only you can make. Making those kinds of decisions is called leadership.

I also caught McCain's speech, and, more importantly, some of the reaction, which was universally bad. First of all, what's up with giving that speech before a wall, when Obama and Clinton are both surrounded by supporters? Whatever happened to that vaunted Republican stagecraft? I figured out what bothered me about McCain's speaking style: he looks like a guy giving a speech before a Rotary club in the 1950's. Very contrived. I started to zone out when he started reciting a laundry list of things that I can't even remember. Obama is going to wipe the floor with him, which is going to be sad. But he's the one who decided to run for President this time.