With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for
presidency of the United States
With those words on a perfect cloudless late summer evening surrounded by over 80,000, the skinny kid with the funny name turned history on its ear. History that 45 years ago this day was set in motion on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Even John McCain paused on this night to recognize the almost overwhelming significance of this moment by airing a congratulatory advertisement smack in the middle of convention coverage, a gracious and necessary gesture.
History was the elixir in the air last night, there was no escaping it. We watched as 68 yr old Rep. John Lewis of GA. reflected on the moment. John Lewis, the son of sharecroppers, who was brutally attacked, having his skull beaten in, by Alabama police on Bloody Sunday as he led over 600 peaceful protesters on the march from Selma to Montgomery in early March of 1965, and who wears those scars today. John Lewis who stood with Dr King and 45 years later would speak before an overwhelming crowd that was there to watch an acceptance speech by this democratic nominee for president.
"You cannot escape the fact that it's the day Dr. King delivered that
magnificent 'I Have A Dream' speech, and the nomination of Barack Obama will be another down
payment on making that dream real "
This week of emotion and cheers, of politics and theatre, grew each evening as the democrats built their case for change.
The first evening was uneven and tame until the Kennedys took the stage as they have for so long. All reached for the Kleenex as Sen Edward Kennedy, "Uncle Teddy", the Lion of the party, who came from a hospital addressed the convention on his feet,something few expected he would... something he would not be held back from doing. Sen. Kennedy personified the history and fundamentals with his determination and his will. Next up- Michelle Obama, elegant and passionate, her job was to sit everyone in the livingroom and show family slides, tell the Obama story, a uniquely American story. Her success was communicating the Real, the love, the compassion,the family and the tale of America. The following evening was Hillary's night! With grace and a solid stand she endorsed her competitor, and made the case for unity, a unity that going into this convention many felt could not happen. "No way, No how, No McCain!" Her husband, the President, would shut the door on doubters the next night as only Bill Clinton could. He gave the speech those who believe in him have been waiting for, while understanding the difficulty of seeing his personal torch passed, not to his wife but to a young man who is leading a new generation. He declared Barack Obama "ready to lead". Captain Bo Biden introduced the Biden story and his Dad Joe Biden, who with great humility made the case for his ticket. Al Gore was called on to talk about the urgency of a new path. As the wounds of his election resonated through the stadium, Al Gore spoke forcefully about "seizing the opportunity" and warned of what lies ahead if we don't .
Then, the Candidate. Have there ever been so many expectations, so many hopes, so many eyes watching a single figure?-certainly not in the media age where every breath is measured and every freckle highlighted. As an overflowing audience, some estimates of over 85,000, gathered and millions viewed through all forms of technology around the globe - how many more waited for him to fall?...instead, he soared. He gave what has been described as a "symphony" of a speech. He took that unprecedented stage knowing fully that he needed to point by point demonstrate that he is ready, that he is not about graceful speeches, that there is substance beneath the vision of the Promise
"Tonight, I say to the people of America, 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...That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours -- a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot."
With an elegant bow to history, Barack Obama made it clear that this election is not about him and not about race,it never has been. From the start the Obama campaign has framed this election about each American's involvement, responsibility and future...about the Promise.
"And it is that promise that 45 years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream...
...The men and women who gathered there could've heard many
things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.
But what the people heard instead -- people of every creed and color, from every walk of life -- is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one. "
Obama wears the legacy with a grace and an understanding of what is expected of him. He makes the case very clear,however, that this election is larger than even his magnetic presence, it is about a country standing on the precipice and the call is for transformational, not minute, change.
"I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington...
...But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's about you. It's about you..."
This convention was carefully crafted to demonstrate the overwhelming need to move forward. To look back with respect and reverence and to learn, as is the purpose of history,but to make the case that we cannot stand still and be paralyzed by that past. This moment in time requires a tremendous leap of faith, a leap that necessitates letting go of what many are too comfortable with and too many see as the only way ---it isn't working, there is too much pain, too much danger, too much at stake. There can be no hope, no reparation, no success and no Promise unless that happens. Barack Obama has made it clear that standing still ,clinging to a crumbling wall of a world that is no more will shatter the Promise that we hold so dear.
"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we
must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
...We cannot turn back... America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone...
At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to
march into the future. Let us keep that promise -- that American promise -- and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess. "
