Against the background of (yet more and more) shameful Clinton self-indulgence (in the form of stories about backbiting and Bill's colossal, endless id-fest), Michelle Obama gave a speech last night that filled me with joy and pride at how much we can offer one another with compassion and sacrifice. And pain at recognizing how often, and how much, I fall short myself.
I marvelled, too, at how much more conservative, from one point of view, the Obamas are compared to the McCains or to the Clintons. Andrew Sullivan really captures it, I think:
There's no question that if you judge the candidates on their actual lives, rather than mythologies, the Obamas are extremely mainstream and conservative. Married for life, great parents, very humble beginnings, driven meritocrats. No divorce or adultery - and regular religious attendance and faith. And yet they are tagged as elitists and radicals. Yes, they're liberals in policy, although not radically so. But they're conservatives in their lives.
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