"I love you back."

Wouldn't you know, Dems gives a steller presentation on the liklihood/consequences of a Hillary nomination and in storms Obama, not nearly as ready to give up as any of us thought.

In case you missed it, Obama spoke the other night in Iowa at the JJ dinner in front of 9,000 Iowa caucusers. Nearly all of the major candidates were present, but, when you're walking around campus and nearly every person who's remotely a Democrat comes up to you and says "Oh my god. Did you hear Obama last night?" you know who came home with the blue ribbon.

His speech truly was amazing. Drawing on America's penchant for pep talks and sports rallies, Obama was in this speech to get America pumped. He skillfully weaved in the tenets of his platform and spun them as his personal reasons for being in the race. By the end, you really believe that it is because of 47,000,000 uninsured and raising sea levels that he ran for president. He's not afraid to subtly attack his own party as directly as he attacks the Bush Administration. He hinges on important words and phrases such as "victory," "judgement," "courage," and "change the world." At one point, towards the end, he says he wants his children to have the same "chances somebody gave [him]." I particularly like this quote because it brings out the idea that we've managed to slip backwards and Obama is going to be there to reach out his hand and bring us forward.

A few other highlights:
-In the middle, alluding to the speech that originally made us all fall in love with him, Obama says, "I don't want to pit red American against blue America. I want to be the president of the United States of America."
- He reminds Dems that we "can't live in fear of losing." In what I see as a veiled defense of what he's been up to lately, he goes on to say "People are tired of fear, tired of diversions," and "tired of distractions." Are we still talking about people here?
- And finally, Obama alludes several times to throwing out the textbook, something I think we all really wish we could do right now.

Anyway...watch the clip below. It's 20 min but it's worth it. As you're watching, think about why this presidential race may not be over yet. Then let us know how you feel. Hate it? Love it? Wish it were Hillary? Sweet.