Obama's convention speech

Yes - I, like many others, thought the speech just about perfect and certainly historical. If you missed it - you shouldn't have. The media has been replaying lots of different clips, but I have not seen my personal favorite part replayed even once:

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort."

Republican/Democrat - Red/Blue - Liberal/Conservative... No matter how we place labels and draw lines, this country is truly great only when we work to find our common ground. We will never fully agree. We never have. This was as true for our founding fathers as it is today. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson passionately disagreed over the role of the federal government -- to the point of temporarily derailing their now-famous friendship. Just as a husband and wife must find common ground and compromise to create a strong marriage, we as a nation can only realize strength through compromise. To do otherwise is to do nothing. Our government has been paralyzed by stubborn partisanship for far too long. Neither extreme can possibly win. Neither extreme should win. If a Republican candidate had spoken these words - that Republican would certainly be strong contender for my vote.

We must make Washington productive again. Many politicians have said this before. I believe Obama, more than any candidate in my lifetime, has the resources and judgment to actually move this bar in the right direction at long last.