We now have our two national political conventions in the books. And I’m struck by a single word.
History.
Before we descend into the hand-to-hand combat that is the grueling two-month presidential race, we should take a moment to reflect on the moment. And what it says about us as a nation.
A week ago Democrats nominated the first African-American ever to become the choice of a major party to be president. Sen. Barack Obama accepted the nomination 45 years to the day after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offered his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.
Thursday night, Sen. John McCain, who spent five years as a POW in the Vietnam War, accepted the nomination of the Republican Party. The night before, his choice for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, became the first woman ever elevated to that honor by the GOP.
Regardless of what happens in November, voters are guaranteed of one thing: They will make history.
Either a black man will become president, or a woman will become vice president. Neither has happened before.l
Ironically, both Obama and McCain stressed another word in their acceptance speeches. Change.
They’ve both already guaranteed that.
We’re in the midst of historic change. It’s good for the process, good for voters, and good for the country.
Soon we will be inundated by both the message and the messengers. Pennsylvania will be a key swing state and we can expect to see plenty of this dynamic foursome.
Obama spent much of yesterday in Lancaster. Today his VP choice, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, will be in Philadelphia and the nearby suburbs.
There are rumblings that McCain could be back in Delaware County next week.
It’s now a sprint to November.
And even more history.
History.
Before we descend into the hand-to-hand combat that is the grueling two-month presidential race, we should take a moment to reflect on the moment. And what it says about us as a nation.
A week ago Democrats nominated the first African-American ever to become the choice of a major party to be president. Sen. Barack Obama accepted the nomination 45 years to the day after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offered his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.
Thursday night, Sen. John McCain, who spent five years as a POW in the Vietnam War, accepted the nomination of the Republican Party. The night before, his choice for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, became the first woman ever elevated to that honor by the GOP.
Regardless of what happens in November, voters are guaranteed of one thing: They will make history.
Either a black man will become president, or a woman will become vice president. Neither has happened before.l
Ironically, both Obama and McCain stressed another word in their acceptance speeches. Change.
They’ve both already guaranteed that.
We’re in the midst of historic change. It’s good for the process, good for voters, and good for the country.
Soon we will be inundated by both the message and the messengers. Pennsylvania will be a key swing state and we can expect to see plenty of this dynamic foursome.
Obama spent much of yesterday in Lancaster. Today his VP choice, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, will be in Philadelphia and the nearby suburbs.
There are rumblings that McCain could be back in Delaware County next week.
It’s now a sprint to November.
And even more history.
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