Barack Obama ignited his political career at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where he linked his story, of growing up as a biracial “skinny kid with a funny name,” to America’s. He stood in the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia — alone, like nearly every convention speaker in the pandemic. There was just the same speaker, older, sadder, but trying to convince his audience that, if they acted urgently, his 2004 faith could still be borne out. It was a Barack Obama quieter and louder than we had heard before. The audacity of hope was tempered by the veracity of the stakes.

Source: New York Times August 20, 2020 13:07 UTC