Obama's more perfect union

I finally got around to watching Obama's March 18th speech "A More Perfect Union" (the "race speech") in it's entirely. If you haven't already done so, I hope you will watch it, too. It is worth spending 37 minutes of your life. I was already a fan, but this really moved me perhaps more than any political speech I can remember. He really is in a unique position, and has a unique ability, to reach such a broad spectrum of the population. His policy ideas are very important, and I agree with a lot of them, but as a friend said to me last night (and I'm paraphrasing a little), what this country really needs more than anything is his demeanor, his approach, his openness. It feels kind of cheesy and almost inconceivable as a seasoned liberal to actually like a candidate for president, but after seeing him in person last week and then watching this speech, I think I can truly say I do. I think that maybe, possibly, he is a real leader and not just a politician. Surely (like our union) he's not perfect, but this is real life, and considering the context of this election, I like his approach a lot.



If you prefer, you can also read the speech here (but I really recommend watching it).