No matter what one thinks of him, Obama’s eulogy for John McCain was absolutely masterful. It is undoubtedly one of the best speeches I’ve heard in a long time.
What struck me most was this line: “We never doubted we were on the same team.” Such a difference from so many politicians and pundits who constantly demonize the other side.
Another standout passage:
So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean, and petty. Trafficking and bombast, and insult, and phony controversies, and manufactured outrage.
It’s a politics that pretends to be brave, and tough, but in fact is born of fear.
John called on us to be bigger than that — he called on us to better than that.
It’s a speech for the ages, sure to be included in anthologies of eulogies in the future.