This Incredible Moment

I don't want to rush past this moment too quickly. Today Barack Obama became the first African American nominee of a major party in history. That is a tremendous accomplishment that I honestly wasn't sure I'd see in my lifetime. I talked to some California electeds about the meaning of this moment.

Steve Westly jumped aboard with Obama early. He told me that he decided to support him in 2006 when he saw Obama appear at a rally in 2006 for Phil Angelides. All that year prospective Presidential candidates were coming through the state to campaign. John Kerry got maybe 100 people to events. Hillary Clinton got 300 or 400. Barack Obama had practically the entire USC campus out on the Quad that day. And Westly saw that this was something special, the kind of moment that you saw with the Kennedys.

My seatmate Debra tells me that this whole election cycle has almost been beyond belief. These are things that she never thoght she would see. "I was a girl who wasn't allowed to take a drafting class in high school. The world has changed."

Kamala Harris has her own story. She was the first African-American district attorney in the history of San Francisco. In a speech for the new majority PAC Vote Hope, she spoke on this, and the fact that Obama's nomination represents a hope for every person of color in America.

Let's stop and reflect on this for a second. An African American nominee. Of our party. The party of inclusion. The party of all Americans.