If Democrats will only Jump Thru these Hoops, Republicans will Provide More Hoops

Michelle Obama spoke Monday night at the Democratic Convention, as I'm sure everybody knows. And her speech was well received and with good reason. It was an excellent speech. It went a long way towards humanizing her and her husband. Read it yourself, if you like.

All of us driven by the simple belief that the world as it is just won't do, that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

And that is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

And, you see, that is why I love this country.

According to Dick Morris and Eileen McGann this is a critical test that the Obama camp needed to pass.

'I love this country": Those are the magic words that Michelle Obama said at the Democratic National Convention last night.

They're the words we've wanted to hear from her ever since we saw her say that she was proud of her country "for the first time in my adult life" now that her husband was winning primaries en route to the White House.

Thank goodness. Michelle Obama cleared the arbitrary hoop that Morris and McGann set for her. Now for smooth sailing.

Except, of course, as Morris and McGann know, the conservatoids aren't going to stop harping on this. They are going to continue harping on this issue. I wouldn't be surprised if, in a week and a half, we hear Hannity and Limbaugh and the others asking "Why don't we ever hear Michelle Obama say anything positive about our nation?"

And, naturally enough, Morris and McGann have another hoop for the Obama's to jump through.

OK, we found ourselves saying, You didn't grow up as elitists. You can reach back for the stories and the memories. But what about now? What about the future? You started off poor, but have you gone Ivy League on us?

Listening to her, we couldn't help feeling that we've heard it all before from Barack Obama himself. Couldn't help wondering if there was more than just the rhetoric and the emotion, no matter how sincerely and obviously felt.

Ah - Obama has to prove that he has actual plans for America instead of just "rhetoric and emotion." Well I suppose a reporter could go and look at the Democratic Party Platform, or at Obama's campaign website and try to glean from it what Obama plans to do if elected. But damn that sounds like work. Easier to just sit back and carp "Obama hasn't put forward any real plans to help America." Easier, and if you are a conservative commentator, more lucrative.