Magnificent<\/b>.<\/p>\n
I don’t think even the most cynical observer or committed Republican partisan could watch that speech all the way through and not be moved. It was simple, yet soaring; it was idealistic, but gritty; it was about him, but it was about us.<\/p>\n
Some of the highlights (weighted towards the beginning of the speech – I lost interest in note-taking as the speech progressed):<\/p>\n
The speech was a moral call to arms: “We are better than the last eight years” and of course, “I am my brother’s keeper.”<\/p>\n
Patricularly moving was his description of how his mother, his father, his grandfather, and his grandmother all contributed to him standing on that podium – and yet, he pointed out, his critics will never understand that the campaign isn’t about Obama at all.<\/p>\n
And finally, the speech was a ferocious indictment of John McCain’s false claim to being a maverick:<\/p>\n
“We are here because we love this country too much to let the next 4 be like the last 8. Eight is enough.”<\/p>\n
“What does it say about your judgment if you think George W. Bush was right 90% of the time?”<\/p>\n
Though it must be noted that Obama had genuine praise and respect for McCain, saying several times that he believes McCain loves his country, and it’s not that McCain is wrong because he doesn’t care, it’s because he doesn’t know. The quote about “a nation of whiners” hit particularly hard – and spoke volumes.<\/p>\n