Did You Hear Obama's Speech Tonight? Fantastic!

Before getting an endorsement from former presidential candidate John Edwards, Sen. Barack Obama delivered a passionate speech that felt like a sanctified church revival, frequently interrupted by hand clapping, standing ovations, even fainting. Here's an excerpt:
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...John Edwards and I believe in a different America. Hillary Clinton believes in a different America. That is why we are going to take Washington by storm in November.

We believe no matter where you come from opportunity should be yours if you are willing to Reach for it and work for it. If you live in the U.S. of A., you should never be hungry or homeless. You should never have to want. That is what we are fighting for.

Poverty is not the issue that is always talked about in the media and it doesn't poll well. John Edwards talked about it because it was right, and it is still right. It is worth debating.

The fight I waged then, the fight John is waging now, is a fight I will bring into the White House. It has not even begun under this White House. I want to make sure he {John Edward} will have a partner in that effort (reducing poverty by half in ten years) because it will be a goal I will set.

We can do this. If you want to work, you can find work,
and if you do work you will never want.

We can start by ending the tax breaks we give to companies that ship jobs overseas, and invest them in companies that create jobs here.

We can refuse to give more tax breaks to the wealthy few who don't need it and aren't even asking for it. The next tax break will put money in the pockets of working families who need it most.

We can make sure that every child no matter where they come from gets a world class education. I won't just talk about how great teachers are, we will reward them with better salaries and more support.

We can invest in after school programs for children who don't have anywhere to go. When they graduate from high school we will make sure they can afford to go to college. We can do that.

This campaign is about you, about your struggles, your hopes, your dreams--about the guy I met in Marion, Indiana who had worked in the same factory, [who] described the feeling as he was packing up the machines. He was losing a sense of who he was; that is something people all across Michigan have been feeling.

It's about all the Americans watch their incomes decline even though they are working 2 or 3 jobs.

You are the corrective to our politics.

You are going to hold us accountable.

Make a declaration that we are going to come together as a country.

This election is also about how we apply those values overseas...because, since this war in Iraq started, we have lost our bearing and our focus; we have been distracted. It has not made us more safe and that is why I opposed this war in 2002.

I oppose Guantanamo. That is why we will reach out and END the genocide in Darfur.

This is the country that gave my grandfather the chance to go to college on the G.I. Bill, that gave him a chance to buy a home with a loan.

No more homeless veterans. No more begging for assistance. No more waiting for hours in the VA...

John Edwards hasn't forgotten what this country has done for him, for Elizabeth, for Michelle, for me.

This is the America we can build for tomorrow for the auto worker in Detroit. This is our time to answer the call that so many generations have answered before the American dream will endure. We are going to have a choice in this election, because John McCain -- as much as I honor his service -- is offering 8 more years of the same: 8 more years of your on your own politics; 8 more years of can't-won't-even-try, gotta go. That is the politics of the past.

We are tired of the politics of fear; we are offering the politics of hope. I know how difficult change is. The status quo resists because sometimes citizenship wins out.
I am convinced the American people are looking for something different. They are saying this time is going to be different.

If you are willing to put down the cynicism and join Barack Obama and John Edwards and Hillary Clinton, I promise you we will not just win this election, we will change this country and the world.