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What a different emotional register from John McCain’s; Obama seems on the verge of tears; the enormous crowd in the Xcel center seems ready to lift Obama on its shoulders; the much smaller audience for McCain’s speech interrupted his remarks with stilted cheers. (Note: there was a large overflow crowd for McCain’s speech, and he repeated his remarks for them later in the evening.)
McCain appealed to Clinton supporters based on their resentments, pointing out that the pundits and party elders seemingly anointed Clinton; Obama appeals to them based on their hopes, promising that Clinton would play a major role in securing universal health care.
Obama thanked his grandmother above all else; without her, he said, none of this would have been possible. She is white, of course. The explicit message is obvious. The implicit message: this thing, this event, is much more than just a step for racial equality.

marcambinder.theatlantic.com

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama took a big step toward the Democratic presidential nomination with an easy victory in North Carolina on Tuesday, and Hillary Clinton vowed to keep her struggling campaign alive after narrowly winning Indiana.
The results helped Obama widen his lead over Clinton in the gruelling Democratic duel for the right to face Republican John McCain in November’s presidential election with just six nominating contests remaining.
Both candidates looked ahead to contests next week in West Virginia and May 20 in Oregon and Kentucky, but Clinton was nearly out of opportunities to change the course of the race.
“We have seen that it’s possible to overcome the politics of division and distraction, that it’s possible to overcome the same old negative attacks that are always about scoring points and never about solving our problems,” Obama said at a victory rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Illinois senator’s 14-point victory in North Carolina was a dramatic comeback from a difficult campaign stretch that began last month with a big loss in Pennsylvania and was prolonged by the controversy over racially charged comments by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Obama, 46, sounded like he was already focused on the general election showdown with McCain. “This fall, we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party, united by a common vision for this country,” said Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president.
The results meant Clinton missed her best chance to narrow Obama’s lead in pledged delegates who will help pick the nominee at August’s convention. She won Indiana by just 23,000 votes out of more than 1.25 million votes cast in the state, but promised to keep up the fight.
“It’s full speed on to the White House,” Clinton said at a victory rally in Indianapolis, with her husband former President Bill Clinton standing behind her. “We’ve got a long road ahead, but we’re going to keep fighting.”

swissinfo.ch

Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta said there’s no room in American society for inflammatory rhetoric like that of Barack Obama’s former pastor and that he hopes Obama’s handling of the matter this week will prompt a more honest national dialogue on race.
In an interview, the veteran civil rights leader called Obama’s speech in Philadelphia Tuesday “extraordinary.”
“He was so open, so candid in talking about his own life, his own family and the role that race has played,” Lewis said, comparing it with speeches by presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, when Lewis was leading student protests against segregation.
“It did remind me of another time, another period,” he said.
Lewis said he understands the roots of the anger displayed in sermons by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, formerly of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
“From the days of slavery, the black minister has been one who is about stirring up things … there was a great deal of anger and bitterness,” he said.
But, he added, “I would never say anything like that.”
“I don’t think there’s any room for that type of rhetoric in our society,” he said. “I think we have to recognize the differences we have and the progress we’ve made. We have problems, but we’ve solved many of those problems. We’ve made a lot of progress. That cannot be denied.”
Lewis also said he hopes Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will join forces to form what he says would be an unstoppable “dream ticket” in the presidential race.
“I don’t see it as a real possibility, but I think it would be a great ticket,” said Lewis, who last month dropped his support for Clinton’s presidential bid in favor of Obama.
Either way, he said, he thinks Obama can still win the nomination despite the controversy.

ledger-enquirer.com