Barack Obama as Eloquent as Usual

On April 20 Barack Obama gave an inspiring speech (that's getting redundant, eh?) at the Opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

He starts with a bit of detail about the man, leads into how this developed his character, and continued into comparing his character to those in the current political arena.

(snippets below the fold)

[editor's note, by Captain Doug] Thanks to AAbshier for the quoting instructions... done!

The whole speech is really pretty short, so I'll just quote the part I liked best:

"It serves us then to reflect on whether that element of Lincoln's character, and the American character - that aspect which makes tough choices, and speaks the truth when least convenient, and acts while still admitting doubt - remains with us today. Lincoln once said that 'character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.'

"At a time when image all too often trumps substance, when our politics all too often feeds rather than bridges division, when the prospects of a poor youth rising out of poverty seem of no consequence to the powerful, and when we evoke our common God to condemn those who do not think as we do, rather than to seek God's mercy for our own lack of understanding - at such a time it is helpful to remember this man who was the real thing. Lincoln reminds us that our essential greatness is not the shadow of sophistication or popularity, or wealth or power or fleeting celebrity. It is the tree that stands in the face of our doubts and fears and bigotries, and insists we can do better."