Anyone here can feel free to disagree with me full-throatedly on this, but I wanted to take some time today to thank Sen. John McCain for his incredibly graceful concession speech last night.
For a politician who is not renowned for his oratory abilities, McCain managed to deliver a beautiful and well-spoken speech with class and a real sense of history.
For me, there were only two flaws in the whole speech.
First of all, McCain mistakenly referred to the election of Sen. Barack Obama as being a victory for African-Americans. Of course it is that, but for such a high barrier to be overcome is a victory for all Americans.
Perhaps this is one reason why McCain never managed to attract much support from non-whites. When he said that last night, it made me remember how he failed to support the institution of a Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in his home state of Arizona.
I think words and actions such as those are the product of a person who views blacks and whites (and others) as too culturally divided to share a common history in this country -- a message completely in opposition with Barack Obama's worldview.
But to people who think this, consciously or otherwise, I invite them to take a look at the sea of faces that made up the crowds in places like New York and Chicago last night. They were the real stars of the night. That is what America looks like. It does not look like the crowd that gathered to hear McCain's speech last night.
This brings me to the second flaw in McCain's speech. You could make the argument that McCain and his running mate were responsible for it -- I'm not sure if that is completely fair.
McCain's immediate audience utterly failed to recognize the gravity of the moment. Their inability to see past the disappointment they felt at the moment is something that many of them should (and probably will) regret.
No matter who you supported in this race, history has been made, and the fact that McCain had to dissuade his supporters from booing the name of the first black president of the United States left a sickening taste in my mouth.
McCain can't undo the foul things he deemed necessary to do -- or allowed to be done on his behalf -- in his campaign. He is guilty of stoking racial division and attempting to make a historic election about mundane distractions.
However, for a moment, he appeared to want to heal the wounds he had reopened. Some here may doubt his sincerity in this, for actions speak louder than words in particular when you've got nothing left to lose. But I think his words will find the right ears, and this country will unite under its next president. In short, he finally and at long last put country first.
I close this with McCain's own words, a call for unity and support of our next president:
I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.