Fulfiling the Dream

Barack Obama has some serious expectations riding on him tonight. Whatever he says will instantly be compared to that speech given 45 years ago to the day, to fairly significant critical acclaim. As if that wasn't enough, it'll also be compared to one of the great modern political speeches: his own at the same Democratic conference four years ago. No matter what he says, it'd be difficult to get anything like the reviews from the instant analysis at the time, or pull off the element of surprise that had people listening gape-mouthed.

But watch those clips, and tell me he's not the man for the job.

And for my American friends, I add this. Do watch to the end, even if you're not a fan of the music.