this man is why progressives-liberals, whatever you wanna call us, exist

Saw this today on Bob Cesca's site. Posted by Elvis. A phenomenal writer-human.

It's the best clip I've seen at highlighting the essence behind Barack Obama's support. As a daughter of Depression-era babies, I say it shines a bright light on what's too frequently been dim of late. This IS the heart of a liberal ...

Read all and watch. It's well worth your time.

[...]

There's no denying these videos can border on the hagiographic, and by now Republicans must be inventing new drinking games for every Obama Video Tearjerker starring some iconic figure from America's troubled past finding Hope and Salvation in the prospect of the Senator's winning this election. And I understand that "Because it's Historic" is not reason enough to support a candidate for president; electing a particularly retarded eggplant would make history, too, but surely there were more legitimate reasons for voting for George W. Bush (POW! ZAP! I've still got it, baby!).

But this video does what no ad or stump speech or vapid, smirking, sarcastic punchline of the McCain campaign's has been able to accomplish [...] It puts a human face, and real Hope, on this long march of ours. It makes it personal, and gives us all a sense of pride and purpose in what we're doing. While their side tears Barack Obama down, and calls names and scrambles for any last shred of humanity in the chum buckets of their anger and vitriol and fear, our side talks about what this man, and his candidacy, mean to us. As people. As Democrats. As Americans.

Their side can roll their eyes and mock these personal stories for their treacle and their tears, but we know it's precisely these moments of humanity that, when taken in aggregate and amplified across this aching country, are the reason we're here, and the reason we'll win.