45 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr gave his ' I have a Dream speech ' Barack Obama soared on King's mighty wings as he accepted the Democratic nomination for President before 84,000 people at Denver's mile high stadium. His speech was eloquent, impassioned, pointed and riveting and harkened back to John F Kennedy's decision to accept the 1960 Democratic nomination at the outdoor Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles: Allen L Roland
Barack Obama is the man for our troubled times ~ a man whose natural grace and eloquence joins him to both Martin Luther King Jr and John F Kennedy in a campaign to bring America back to its forgotten but historic promise as a moral leader for a world which is rapidly surrendering to its innate desire to unite and cooperate with one another.
Obama soared like an eagle and clearly enjoyed his moment while 84,000 Democrats and millions of television viewers throughout the world celebrated with him.
Excerpts:
" Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough!
This moment ~ this election ~ is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."
But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.
Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility ~ that's the essence of America's promise.
And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country.
Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans ~ Democrats and Republicans ~ have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future. " ( See Full Text and Video )
Barack's ongoing theme of hope, promise and unity was effectively threaded throughout his speech ~
Obama called it the "promise that has always set this country apart ~ that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family."
"That’s why I stand here tonight," Obama told the rapt crowd of 84,000. "Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women ~ students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors ~ found the courage to keep it alive."
Nobel Laureate Al Gore set up Obama's historic speech by employing America to seize this opportunity for a needed change of direction and renew the promise of America in the wake of a genuine global climate crisis which is threatening human existence . Gore compared Obama to Abraham Lincoln while tying John McCain to the obvious failures of the Bush/Cheney administration ~ "With John McCain's support, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led our nation into one calamity after another because of their indifference to fact; their readiness to sacrifice the long-term to the short-term, subordinate the general good to the benefit of the few, and short-circuit the rule of law." 12 min Video http://www.truthout.org/article/transcript-al-gores-address-democratic
So last night, Al Gore passionately roared his endorsement and a soaring Barack Obama took a major step toward keeping the promise of America as well as the world alive in 2008.
Allen L Roland
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net
