Obama '08, and Change and Continuity

Last night Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. A lot is being said about that achievement, so adding something different to the conversation is not easy. But I'll try.

Obama built his political reputation in his adopted home, the South Side of Chicago. For decades now, that area has drawn African-Americans looking for a place that combined the promise of opportunity with a congenial social atmosphere. Here is the work of another longtime resident of Chicago's South Side. Throughout most of his life the idea that he was an authentic representative of America would have seemed outlandish to many people. But it was true. And so is Barack Obama.