Ringing the Bell

At a minimum, Obama might have made some obvious concessions to political realities (other than standing between American flags). Instead, he went so far as to depart from a recent tag line in his stump speech and refrained from saying "God bless you, and God bless America," which would have added a contrived close to an otherwise authentic speech. I don't believe Obama objects to the concept of God blessing America, only the clichéd nature of the sentiment. Over time he'll need to show other, less clichéd ways of showing his love of flag and country.

To me, the only line missing from the speech was one Obama has used in the past when asked if his daughters should be given preferential treatment when they apply to college a decade from now. He has said no, and agrees that affirmative action should not be extended to the children of wealthy minorities. He might have added that point to reinforce his nuanced view of race.

But history will give him this: Barack Obama didn't simply touch the touchiest subject in America, he grabbed it and turned it over and examined it from several different angles and made it personal. Just steps from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, he rang the bell hard and well.

© 2008