Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama!
Stayed up very late last night to watch the speeches. Both were excellent.
McCain seemed…relieved? It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Gone was angry, sarcastic, slightly goofy McCain, and here was a gracious, eloquent, likable man. Given how negative his campaign was, this speech seemed delivered by an entirely different person.
Jeffrey Zeldman via Twitter perhaps said it best:
McCain’s concession speech was eloquent, noble, patriotic. In short, the real John McCain. Gandalf has cast out Wormtongue. Hail, Theoden!
Obama has one hell of a presence. I’d wager he’s probably the best speaker we’ve had since JFK. Clinton had the charisma, and was an excellent speaker, but wasn’t at that level. Obama simply owned that stage. It was inspiring, positive, and uplifting. I don’t think it’ll go down as one of the great speeches of history – however, I believe Obama will make an entry on that list at some point. He’s that good.
So we’ve done our part. Now it’s up to Obama to do his. He can certainly talk the talk. Now (well…next year when he’s sworn in…) it’s time for him to walk the walk.