A Straight Line to the White House

I was in DC for the first time in about six years today. The air was crisp and brilliant yellow and red leaves were scattered across every sidewalk. During college, I always remember October and November in DC being glorious -- with a special air of anticipation and energy. The time leading into and out of elections really got that city's juices flowing.

So, of course, I had to swing by the Obamas' soon-to-be home...and was greeted with this wonderful, wonderful sign:


Needless to say, I was on a bit of a progressive high on my train ride back to NYC. So, being a loser, I flicked on my iPod to listen to a post-election hip-hop mixtape I downloaded last week but hadn't yet listened to. The mixtape starts with a long excerpt of an Obama speech. It was strong and powerful, but I couldn't quite place when he gave it. It hit on all the key themes of his campaign -- unity, hope, decency, progressivism. But where was it from?

The Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Iowa? No. His acceptance speech in Denver? No. His victory speech in Grant Park? No.

After about five minutes of very solid exposition, he launches into the familiar, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America." A-HAAAA!!! It was his 2004 DNC keynote, the one that launched him onto the national stage.

It was remarkable to hear his constancy and his clarity of thought. His entire campaign was laid out in the text of that single speech. Over the ensuing four-plus years, he made minor tweaks and added some policy meat...but his themes and his core principles remained shockingly consistent. Just watch the first few minutes of his speech...he could have given it at any point during the campaign and it would have fit perfectly. That is image control. (skip to the 1:00 mark...the first 60 seconds are just applause):



Also, I'm still making my way through this 3-hour mixtape, but it's pretty good so far. And it's worth checking out if only for the sweet cover art (also, try to download this cool track that Minneapolis MC Brother Ali recorded the night of the election and released the day after. It is a great historical artifact to remind us all of what that night felt like...he released it for free, so don't feel like you're stealing)