Editorials

Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday night was doubtless an historic moment -- if a less-than-historic speech.

But before taking issue with policy positions and campaign strategies, Americans of all persuasions should stop and reflect on what Obama's candidacy means.

It means the nation has made significant progress since Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech 45 years ago. That well-remembered text said the U.S. Constitution was an unfulfilled "promissory note."

"This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable rights' of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,'" King said in 1963. "It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned."

But, 45 years later, Obama himself fulfilled that pledge.

"It is that promise that has always set this country apart -- that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well," Obama said Thursday night. "It is why I stand here tonight. Because for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women -- students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive."

It's worth noting that race has been only a peripheral issue during the long, long presidential campaign. Obama has not made it his central theme, as past candidates such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson did. Nor have his opponents, Democrats or Republicans.

In other words, it's worth mentioning that race hasn't really been mentioned as a substantive issue in this campaign. What better fulfillment of King's hope that, someday, his children would not be "judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

On Thursday night, however, Obama's speech was less lofty and more partisan. From early in the week, the Democrats' strategy has been clear: they intend to run against George W. Bush, not Sen. John McCain.

"John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time," Obama said. "Sen. McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90 percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change."

And Obama laid out a set of policy goals that stretch credulity.

"In ten years," he said, "we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East."

He rejected drilling on U.S. oil reserves as a "stop-gap" measure.

But these are issues for next week and next month, as the campaigns shift into high gear.

For now, it's enough to note Obama's remarkable achievement, and the achievement of America itself.

To cite another great orator -- Ronald Regan, in his farewell address -- the United States is ever closer to its goal of being that "shining city on a hill."

It's a good place to be.

()