Al Giordano has a good piece on how Barack's campaign is coming full circle, with his closing argument to be essentially the same as the opening argument he made at the 2004 National Convention (http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/ ). Al's absolutely right that Obama's message has been consistent since he first came on the national stage 4 years ago, but his consistency long predates that. I met him in 2003, when he spoke of how we are all our brothers' and sisters' keeper, how we all are invested in each other, how we all are diminished when any of us suffer injustice. I have heard him say the same things, even using the same examples, throughout the past 20 months. Some criticized him for being repetitive; I appreciated his consistency and his adherence to the same core principles and values.
When Michelle relates a talk he gave to a community group 19 years ago (as she did at the convention), we hear more than an echo of the message Barack still gives today: "He talked about 'The world as it is' and 'The world as it should be.' And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is - even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves - to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/08/25/remarks_of_michelle_obama_and_1.php )
Watching Countdown the other night, I heard another blast from Barack's past that demonstrated his consistency. Turns out Keith O's history teacher invited Barack to speak at Keith's old high school back in 1991. According to the student newspaper's 1991 account, Barack emphasized how "change is possible" and that we need to take action to be that change (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUgiveUdXXw).
That's a strange coincidence, but even more impressive is the extreme consistency of his message. He has been honoring his words--often the same exact words--with action for over 20 years. And, as Al says, that consistency clearly demonstrates "what kind of person he is and what kind of president he would be." The kind of President we can believe in.
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