"And so, at 11am on Tuesday, Barack Obama spoke to America about race as if we were adults."

Kate Michelman, the former president of NARAL, just posted one heck of a classy endorsement to Barack Obama over at Huffington Post :

Senator Obama is not just prepared to lead as our beloved Teddy and Caroline Kennedy have said, he is prepared to lead in a way different than we have seen for decades. Not out in front with us behind him, but rather with us beside him.

And that difference is all the difference. That difference separates just any president from a great president; and right now, we need a great president.

Barack Obama will be that great president. He will bring us all together. And together, we will change our country.

During these past many years, we have lost the sense of what we could do together, who we could be, what was possible.

That's changing.

And Barack Obama is the one changing that.

With him, greatness is again within reach.

Now compare that to Glorian Steinem or even worse, to Marcia Pappas.

On a related note, Nez calls the energy and zeitgeist coming from the Obama camp 'sway'.
 more this way»

This is the concession speech that never was. You can find the full text of the speech after the jump.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no
matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the
power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will
only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been
asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against
offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been
anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible
odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't
try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a
simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.
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"I have listened to you ... and I found my own voice."

We're in need of a compare and contrast post. I can't wait for the video clips.

Hillary's speech started AWESOME, making reference to "the tear heard around the world". Yet the speech was incredibly clunky with her effort to "we-ify" her rhetoric and move away from the "I will" that has become her trademark throughout the campaign.

I will hold off any comment, but I have to say that Clinton is definitely a survivor. She's not the iron lady people try to paint her. She is pliable, she is flexible, she learns fast her opponents moves and is quick to adapt to her circumstances.

No wonder I voted for her. No matter what I say about her dynastic tendencies, I did vote for her as my senator and I will do it again.

For president? I so wish she had waited 4 years to run ...

I can't believe it but Barack Obama has made me cry with his "Yes We Can" speech. I wish I were recording this.

"Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity."
"Yes we can heal this nation."
"Yes we can change this world."

"We will remember there is something happening in America."
"That we are not as divided as we think."
"That we are one people."

I'm in love.

This is not a concession speech.

This is a battle cry.

Shakespeare and King would have been proud.