Obama's Speech

If you stayed up to watch Obama's victory speech last night, you, like me, might have become an instant convert. I felt like the young Jewish kid falsely accused of murder in the movie "My Cousin Vinnie," who, after hearing Joe Pesci's Vinnie demolish a witness, dumped his legal aid lawyer and cried out: "I want him!"

Obama has clearly captured the vital "hope for the future" center, which Bill Clinton rode to victory in 1992. My choice -- John Edwards -- offered in defeat populist rhetoric that sounded all the right themes yet made him sound like a sourpuss. And Hillary Clinton? She looked and sounded like a machine pol, pushing all the rhetorical buttons but lacking passion. That's going nowhere this year. If she loses in New Hampshire, the Obama momentum may well be unstoppable.