Tonight, Barack Obama delivered a speech so well that thousands rose to their feet as he crescendoed into a line about (of all things) making college available to everyone as a "birthright." That is a pretty unrealistic line, but it was delivered with such fire that one need not worry about the details.
As I watched the presumptive Democratic nominee deliver those words, my eyes were caught by another image in the U.S. News on my lap. It shows a cute American girl smiling next to a dead Iraqi prisoner. Of course there is no need to tell you this because the photo is the first thing at which you looked. I am literally numbed by this photo.
It triggers another image that sticks in my brain: a large color photo of a Hitler Youth rally centered on cute, blond, vivacious German girl. The almost life size picture is in the D.C. Holocaust Museum, and of all the horrific images that one must encounter on a visit to that place, it continues to linger with an awful juxtaposition---a beautiful enthusiasm for evil. (Sidenote: Any Holocaust reference is tricky, so let me be clear that I do not equate Iraq and the Holocaust or Bush and Hitler. This is simply the image that came to mind. It triggers the same emotions but that does not mean that the players are to be treated interchageably.)This Iraq snapshot and hundreds like it will impact America's image for decades. That damage cannot be undone overnight but we must now move forward in a world shaped by it. As the Left and the media (was that unnecessarily redundant) repeat a drum beat about McCain running for Bush's third term, I remind you that John McCain stood up and fought Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney over their torture policy. While, undoubtedly, Senator Obama was offended and rightly enraged by the prison scandals, it was Senator McCain who took on the President and got results. Some 90 Senators voted with McCain and Bush got the message. President McCain would lead armed forces that know their Commander-in-Chief does not approve of torture, and that is a possible result of which we should all be proud.
The choice between words and action will present itself in many forms. In the coming months, Senator Obama will likely deliver impassioned speeches about reducing our carbon output 80% by 2050. It is doubtful his oratory will break a Republican filibuster though. McCain might actually deliver 60% cuts that will speak clearly for generations to come. The choice this November will not be between the status quo and "change we can believe in." No, the choice will be about which agent of change will get the most done, and who will deliver the best type of change. Lots of leaders deliver change, but change can be both positive and negative. George W. Bush beat the Arizona Senator once by stealing the "reformer" title from the true maverick. Let's hope Bush does not defeat McCain again.
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