We've seen it before when, on the same night that Obama made a passionate speech in front of a packed arena in St. Paul, McCain gave a speech of his own to literally dozens of supporters in a New Orleans suburb...in front of a lime green backdrop.
Again, today: Obama gave an impressive speech to 200,000 cheering Germans...
while McCain had lunch in a German restaurant in Ohio and attempted snarky remarks ("I'd love to give a speech in Germany . . . but I'd much prefer to do it as President of the United States.").
Really. How much more of a contrast can there be? Some more of my thoughts below the fold . . .
I'll admit it: Barack Obama has brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions. To those who deride his effect on me, I say: it isn't because of the man himself. John Edwards had a similar effect on me, and Hillary Clinton had some brilliant moments that truly spoke to many of us.
But I'm not sure that any other candidate would have the bravery, the audacity to make his or her candidacy about changing the shape of the political process, and about changing the shape of the world. And today I saw Barack Obama do just that: he traveled to Germany and articulated his plan to unite the world behind a message of change.
The Germans are ready for it. Americans are ready for it. We're all ready for it. And the contrast with the politics and message of his opponent couldn't be clearer.
I saw today what I saw when I canvassed on primary day in North Carolina. I, a tall, gawky, white middle-class grad student was sent up to poor, almost entirely African-American neighborhoods northeast of downtown Greensboro. But everyone was kind to me, and only got kinder when they found out I was there to remind them to vote for Obama.
I got high fives, fist bumps, and hugs from people who never could have imagined voting for someone like Barack Obama. And I got just a little bit of what this meant to them.
Today, I got a little bit of what this means to Germans. And we all know what this will mean to all Americans. As if I needed another reason to work harder to elect this man president, today I'm reminded: the contrast between these two candidates couldn't be any clearer.