(This is a re-post of "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, But..." I was encouraged to re-post it when more Kossacks might be online. I hope that's OK.)
Like many Kossacks, I'm very grateful for the Al Rodgers diary featuring magnificent and moving photos of the historic convention in Denver.
They capture so many inspirational moments, and I hope we all will visit his diary now and again to remember and to reignite our hopefulness, our dedication, and our unity.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. But words have great value, too...
as demonstrated time and time again by the inspiring speakers at the convention.
So, this week, as we're inundated with media hype surrounding the Republican convention (and Sarah Palin), I plan to take a moment to revisit highlights from some of the soaring speeches that united and inspired so many Democrats, Independents and even Republicans...
As we all know, there were many outstanding speeches! I know I've overlooked some of them in this list (I only have so much time!); and I'm sorry about that. Of course, if you would like to add quotations that you found especially moving, brilliant, funny, or inspirational, please be my guest in the comments area.
Among the words I found most stirring and memorable...
Barrack Obama:
...for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.
We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes. Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough!
... I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.
For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments.
Joe Biden:
I've never seen a time when Washington has watched so many people get knocked down without doing anything to help them get back up.
Our greatest presidents—from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin Roosevelt to John Kennedy—they all challenged us to embrace change. Now, it’s our responsibility to meet that challenge.
Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up. Our people are too good, our debt to our parents and grandparents too great, our obligation to our children is too sacred.
Hillary Rodham Clinton:
To my supporters, my champions -- my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits - from the bottom of my heart: Thank you.
You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history.
I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?
And after so many decades - 88 years ago on this very day - the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote would be forever enshrined in our Constitution.
My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for President.
This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.
And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice.
If you hear the dogs, keep going.
If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.
If they're shouting after you, keep going.
Don't ever stop. Keep going.
If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.
Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.
Bill Clinton:
Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United States.
People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.
Al Gore:
I believe this election is close today mainly because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change Barack Obama represents
Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them. The same policies all over again?
Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous.
We are facing a planetary emergency which, if not solved, would exceed anything we’ve ever experienced in the history of humankind. In spite of John McCain’s past record of open mindedness on the climate crisis, he has apparently now allowed his party to browbeat him into abandoning his support of mandatory caps on global warming pollution.
There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon awakening to the challenge of a present danger, shaking off complacency to rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of embracing change.
John Kerry:
Never in modern history has an administration squandered American power so recklessly. Never has strategy been so replaced by ideology. Never has extremism so crowded out common sense and fundamental American values. Never has short-term partisan politics so depleted the strength of America's bipartisan foreign policy.
Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.
This election is a chance for America to tell the merchants of fear and division: you don't decide who loves this country; you don't decide who is a patriot; you don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't.
Edward Kennedy:
It is so wonderful to be here. Nothing, nothing was going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight.
There is a new wave of change all around us- and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination-not merely victory for our party, but renewal for our nation.
And this November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans.
Caroline Kennedy:
I'd never had someone inspire me the way people tell me my father inspired them, but I do now: Barack Obama.
Mark Warner:
In this election, at this moment, in our history, we know what the problems are. We know that at this critical juncture, we have only one shot to get it right.
Dennis Kucinich:
If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating, this administration would take the gold.
Wake Up, America!
Beau Biden, who will be sent to the Middle East this fall:
Be there for my dad like he was for me.
Be there for Barack Obama because our country needs him. Be there for both of them because millions of families need to know that their best days aren't behind them, but ahead of them. Be there for both of them because millions of people are trying to overcome, just like my dad overcame. Be there. Be there because Barack Obama and Joe Biden will deliver America the change we so desperately need
Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration (Ret):
I have served under six commanders-in-chief. My journey led me here because I know that leadership does matter. That is why I am enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama to be our next president. He is the leader our military needs. He is the leader our country needs.
Susan Eisenhower:
"Too many people in power have failed us. Belligerence has been a substitute for strength; stubbornness for leadership; and impulsive action has replaced measured and thoughtful response."
"Unless we squarely face our challenges, as Americans together, we risk losing the priceless heritage bestowed on us by the sweat and the sacrifice of our forbearers. If we do not pull together, we could lose the America that has been an inspiration to the world.
On December 1, 1862, in his annual message to Congress, Abraham Lincoln immortalized this thought when he said: “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
Let us respond this November to President Lincoln’s challenge."
American Pamela Cash-Roper:
I’m a lifelong Republican who voted for Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Bush. But I can’t afford four more years like this.
American Barney Smith:
America can’t afford more of the same. We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys.
Michelle Obama:
So tonight, in honor of my father’s memory and my daughters’ future, out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment, let us devote ourselves to finishing their work. Let us work together to fulfill their hopes and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama President of the United States of America.
Again, many thanks to Al Rodgers for his magnificent photo diary. I hope those images, combined with these quotes, will inspire us to work hard in the coming weeks. And I hope they'll remind us of what a hopeful future our nation can have!
Peace.