I just found this story on the WaPo campaign blog, and I think it's a wonderful reminder of the fact that the guy we're fighting for knows exactly what we're fighting for:
"The reason that you have this principle is not to be soft on terrorism. It's because that's who we are. That's what we're protecting," Obama said, his voice growing louder and the crowd rising to its feet to cheer.
This is what first drew me to Obama: his ability to speak fearlessly and unapologetically on behalf of truth and of the principles that make this country a place worth living in.
He was in rare form in my home state of Michigan today, responding to perhaps the most execrable comment from Palin's convention speech: "Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."
Obama had a few problems with that.
"First of all, you don't even get to read them their rights until you catch 'em," Obama said here, drawing laughs from 1,500 supporters in a high school gymnasium. "They should spend more time trying to catch Osama bin Laden and we can worry about the next steps later."
In addition to reminding us who the competent candidates in this election are, though, he had some truly inspiring things to say on behalf of our fundamental rights:
Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for more than a decade, said captured suspects deserve to file writs of habeus corpus.
Calling it "the foundation of Anglo-American law," he said the principle "says very simply: If the government grabs you, then you have the right to at least ask, 'Why was I grabbed?' And say, 'Maybe you've got the wrong person.'"
The safeguard is essential, Obama continued, "because we don't always have the right person."
I started law school this week, and law professors are wise people. They deal in difficult ambiguities every day and need to be able to think through them for themselves. They need to know the history behind the ways in which we govern ourselves, and many different rationales for our most foundational customs. And they need to care about passing this knowledge on to others.
Although I haven't agreed with every position or public comment of Obama's, I find it both comforting and uplifting to know that this is a man with a deep knowledge of our laws, as well as of the philosophical, moral, and practical reasoning behind them. And I'd love to see him continue making spirited defenses of our Constitution like this one:
"The reason that you have this principle is not to be soft on terrorism. It's because that's who we are. That's what we're protecting," Obama said, his voice growing louder and the crowd rising to its feet to cheer. "Don't mock the Constitution. Don't make fun of it. Don't suggest that it's not American to abide by what the founding fathers set up. It's worked pretty well for over 200 years."
There are some more great quotes in the article, so please go read it all. When he's in his element, when he brings this kind of passion to issues that are as American as you can get, I know he can bring the country right along with him.
This is my first diary, although I've been here nearly four years. I rarely think that I have enough to contribute in terms of independent political analysis, but I was truly invigorated tonight. A candidate who is willing to speak to us as adults, to engage in this kind of language, and to take the debate to this level (even though we know the other side and the media are absolutely incapable of meeting him there) is truly one I can believe in.
Update: Wow, thanks so much everyone for reading and recommending! Yes we can...and this is why we should.
Update 2: Thanks to commenter robertacker13 for reposting this link to an NYTimes story and this one to a Slate article on Obama's law school exams and teaching style. Pretty good stuff. I'm also reminded of how much I enjoyed this diary by Adam B, about his own experience as Obama's student. All make for great reading.