Last night at the Xcel Energy Center, I saw history

From June 4th, 2008

Because of you, tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America.

It took 16 months to get there. But last night I was there in St. Paul, Minnesota. I was there when Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America.

After 16 a long, 16 month journey we have finally made it across the first finish line. To quote Le blogueur Oakland Kid

This moment isn't about Democrats or Independents or Republicans, this is a moment of celebration for all of us, as Americans...

Only in America was this moment possible. Only in America could hundreds of thousands heed the call for Change and find their hard work and their relentless organizing answered by one candidate who rose up above a field of exceptional leaders to secure this victory.

Change is at hand.

It's been a long journey to get here. Last night was the third Obama rally I have attended. The first one had about 1/10th the crowd but it was equally filled with hope. Back on June 29th, 2007.

That was almost a year ago. But there was that same sense of hope last night at the Xcel Energy Center when 17,000 people packed inside and 15,000 watched from the streets as Barack Obama went from the skinny guy with the funny name to the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States.

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It's hard to express how I feel about this. I have been a supporter of Barack Obama for President for almost 20 months. That's a long time. What started as a few dedicated people with common hopes has turned into a full fledged, winning, campaign.

Yes. We. Did.

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We still have a lot more ahead of us though. Exactly 5 months from now millions of people around this great country will head to the polls and vote. And that's what matters. Winning that is how Obama will become the 44th President of the United States of America. It wouldn't hurt to chip in and help get us there.

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And then we will have more work to do. Electing a president doesn't make change if that president can't get there agenda through Congress. To do that we will need to never stop working for change.

Martin Luther King Jr once said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.

Last night in St. Paul it was bending pretty heavily towards justice. As kid oakland said

Somewhere in heaven, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Jefferson and Walt Whitman are smiling tonight. Somewhere in heaven, Caeser Chavez and Harriet Tubman and Robert Kennedy are celebrating this victory. Somewhere up there, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln and Fannie Lou Hamer understand.

A Change is upon us.

Folks, last night we made history.

Give yourself a big pat on the back and let's roll up our sleeves and get back to work.

Yes. We. Can.