How Barack Obama taught Democrats to tell their American story

Obama's convention speech was not just a rebuke to Donald Trump. It was a powerful articulation of progressive patriotism.

Obama at the DNC.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

On a July night in Boston in 2004, a 42-year-old state senator gave what we can understand now as probably the most important convention speech in our history, a thunderbolt that made the entire political world sit up and say, "Holy cow. That guy's going to be president one day." Twelve years later, his hair greyer and his face more wrinkled, he gave another convention speech on someone else's behalf. If he had been waiting much of his life to make that speech during John Kerry's convention, the speech he gave for Hillary Clinton was obviously one he'd been waiting to make for the duration of this campaign, if not longer. Watching the rapturous crowd and hearing his unmatched combination of eloquence and delivery, it was hard to avoid the conclusion that Barack Obama will cast an awfully long shadow over Hillary Clinton, should she be fortunate enough to win in November.

Obama's speech was not just a rebuke to Donald Trump's apocalyptic vision of our country, though it certainly was that. Even more, it was a powerful articulation of the progressive version of the American story, and an assertion of patriotism every ounce as strong as that of those who have for eight years questioned whether he is truly American.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.