OBAMA

I haven't been paying too much attention to the Democratic Convention, which means that I've constantly had it on in the background and only watch it every few minutes. I thought Barack Obama's speech was quite good, although this

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.

Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America.

indicates that Obama and John "Two Americas" Edwards should consider comparing notes next time. To be fair, in his speech Edwards did talk about the need to "build one America," but the reason that makes rhetorical sense is because he's spent the last year or so pointing out that we are, in many ways, a divided country.

Good post on Obama from Scott over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money.

Also, re: Obama, this bit of nincompoopery from Roger Clegg over at NRO:

Barack Obama gave a fine speech, but it was not a speech that reflects the current Democratic Party. It celebrated America as "a magical place"; it did not bemoan our racism and imperialism. It professed that this black man "owe[d] a debt to those who came before" him; it did not call for reparations. It spoke of an "awesome God"; it did not banish Him from public discourse. It admitted that black parents, and black culture, need to change the way black children are raised; it did not blame or even mention racism. It quoted "E pluribus unum" and translated it correctly as "Out of many, one"; it did not misquote it, as Al Gore infamously did, as "Many out of one." Most of all, the speech celebrated one America, "one people," and rejected the notion of a black America, a white America, a Latino America, and an Asian America--a notion completely foreign to the multiculturalism that now dominates the Democratic Party.

Translation: "No fair! His speech didn't match my strawman!" HI-larious.