ONE CAN ONLY HOPE

As Bruce at Old Hickory's Weblog keeps saying about the Convention: "I can quit any time I want to."  Yeah, right.  We can't, and we know it.  So above is a great portrait of Barack Obama, last night's Keynote Speaker, and a rising star in the Democratic firmament.  I've been reading about him, but this was my first chance to see him in action.  I understand the excitement.  He made me want to move to Illinois so I could vote for him this November.  When his speech finished, G. and I turned to each other and said: "we may have just heard a speech by this country's first black President."  Today I read Tom Engelhardt's post from the convention and he has the the very same thought:

But the speech that rocked the house -- and for good reason -- was Barack Obama's. While it offered the usual praise of Kerry, it was remarkable in its own right. Certainly, it was the only speech of the day, possibly of the convention, which even mentioned the Pentagon ("Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon."), or Arab Americans ("If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties."), or the American toll in Iraq by number ("I thought of the 900 men and women -- sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors, who won't be returning to their own hometowns. I thought of the families I've met who were struggling to get by without a loved one's full income, or whose loved ones had returned with a limb missing or nerves shattered, but who still lacked long-term health benefits because they were Reservists."), but read it for yourself. He was a knock-out. Call me starry-eyed, or simply punchy as a day inside the Fleet Center ended, but there's always something about genuine enthusiasts that just does get to you. I thought to myself when Obama was finished and the place was truly rocking, maybe, just maybe, I listened to a speech by a future president of the United States."

And after we had said we may have seen a future president, G and I said, once again in a chorus, "I hope I live long enough to vote for him for president."  The picture is from his campaign website, which - sign of the times - includes a blog.