sorry for no bloggin. been away from internet. some thoughts on the obama speech. starting with the acceptance speech, he's been...chastened, subdued. it was not a really soaring speech, and delivered no moment of profundity or poetry that will be remembered. ain't worth much, but here's how i'd have written it. ok. start with this moment of victory: we have overcome. and then: but this is also a moment of struggle, pain, challenge, crisis.and then run through a few historical vignettes in which america survived or indeed achieved greatness. the washington at valley forge thing he used was fine. then a civil war/lincoln vignette. then the depression. ww 2: always pegged on a specific quote/character/leader: always showing that greatness comes only in profound struggle. then the1963 king speech on that very mall. then back to this moment of overcoming and crisis: our moment to show that greatness again. see? *shape* the thing into a whole, a single thing.