Barack Obama makes history, commands respect

Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama's skilful speech in St. Paul followed the rich text that had been released before he delivered it. Thematically, it recalled JFK's inaugural address, invoking generational change and offering up Obama as its bearer.

Whereas JFK's speech framed generational change defending and advancing liberty around the world, Obama's generational change holds up the causes of retreat abroad and unlimited government at home. The challenges outlined by Obama are to be addressed by government programs in which citizens become clients of the welfare state, as early in life as possible.

Obama's turned Senator McCain's suggestion that Obama visit Iraq to view current progress against McCain, suggesting that McCain needs a tour of the United States. Obama provided his own tour, calling up a parade of victims.

It is a tour that reveals Senator McCain's unconsciousness of the victimization of the American people Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can't pay the medical bills for a sister who's ill, he'd understand that she can't afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy.

Obama's recitation of ills and prescriptions is of interest, but not the most interesting element of the speech. Obama found McCain guilty of the same offense as Rev.Wright: In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically.

Senator McCain's "many accomplishments" of course include military service beyond the understanding of most of us. If it is possible to give something beyond the last full measure of devotion, McCain gave it over five-and-a-half years in North Vietnamese hellholes. I'm not aware of Senator McCain ever declining to acknowledge Obama's "many accomplishments," but he might be well served by expressly acknowledging them in his stump speech:

"Senator Obama, I honour your work in the private sector for a year or two after you graduated from college, and I honour your work for three years as a community organizer. I understand that as a community organizer you pressured city authorities to remove asbestos from the Altgeld Gardens apartments in 1986 with at least partial success.

When the on-site manager of the apartments didn't take action, you nudged the residents into confronting city housing officials in two angry public meetings downtown.

These generated "a victory of sorts," you said later, as workers soon began sealing the asbestos in the buildings, even if the project gradually ran out of steam and money and even if some tenants still have asbestos in their homes, according to current resident Linda Randle, who worked with you in the '86 anti-asbestos campaign.

When you chose to quit organizing the South Side of Chicago after three years, your good deeds did not stop. You rendered valiant service by attending Harvard Law School and winning your first election as the president of the Harvard Law Review.

Your service to the Harvard Law Review did not bring an end to your remarkable benefactions. You returned to Chicago, where you won election to the Ilinois state legislature before the triumph that brought you to the Senate for the past three-and-a-half years.

We all know your accomplishments in the Senate. And last, but far from least, I honour your authorship of Dreams From My Father, a memoir that has spent many weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. You, sir, have served our country with uncommon distinction."

How long, I wonder, before Obama would find the acknowledgement of his many accomplishments beyond the pale of civilized discourse ?

Power Line