If there is true redemption, Hillary Clinton yesterday gave one of the most cogent examples of it in her concession speech. I finished watching it this morning as I was too busy yesterday to tune in (ok in all honesty my eyes wouldn't open voluntarily after being up half the night). For anyone who missed it, you can watch AND listen to it now.

If you have not watched or heard this speech you owe it to yourself to do so now. It is a truly remarkable speech, and hence the title of this post, a true speech of redemption. Many people don't remember how Barack Obama came to be noticed on the national front, I remember as I watched him speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2003. Damn was he electrifying! The rest is history. Yesterday Hillary Clinton gave a speech that to me was as electrifying as the one Obama gave in 2003, and for those who have occasionally dropped by for a visit, you know I am an Obama supporter, and have not minced words when it came to my thoughts concerning Hillary Clinton. Her speech yesterday truly showed, at least to me, a person I had not seen. Most of all though, it showed me a future with a belief (not just a father's bias), that my seven year old daughter could one day stand where Hillary Clinton stood yesterday, but in my daughter's case, give a similar speech accepting the Democratic nomination for President of the United States of America (yes we are raising her right and she will be a life long Democrat).

I have read many comments this morning in blogs like the DailyKos, Talking Points Memo, MyDD, and others. Most comments were of praise, a few tried to analyze things and justify why the speech fell short. Those latter comments were total snark, and demonstrated to me there were a few people who failed Abnormal Psychology in college (or perhaps lacked any higher education). We can argue amongst ourselves whether or not the speech came late or should never have come at all, however in such arguments we will surly only hurt ourselves, our future, the Democratic Party, and the future for our children. Such continuation of such petty bickering will serve only to divide rather then unite, and flies in the face of the wishes of the fine Lady who spoke those words. It would leave an opening that Republicans would exploit as they are so good at doing to create distrust, divisiveness, and weaken our chances at securing the White House in November. Should such an event occur, and McSame win the election, I don't feel our country would be around when my daughter was finally old enough to claim her position in this nation's highest elected office.Sure we would be here in name, however under the policies advocated by McSame we would exist at best as only indentured servants to either the middle east oil producers, or the Chinese.

There has been a lot of talk (and I admit my full participation in such dialogue) of the divisiveness of this primary. How this long contest has damaged the party and done the Republicans job for them. To that I retract any comments I have made in the past agreeing with that notion. Had Hillary made such a speech half way through the nomination process, I believe there would exist a strong possibility of her standing today as the Democratic nominee for the President. That speech was not given until yesterday, and today Barack Obama stands as the Democratic nominee. History was made this year, and will still be made later this year when as described in the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Americans will stand together without regard to race or color as equals, and in another thirty five or forty years my daughter will stand, should she so choose on the steps of the Capital and take the oath of office as the President.

Redemption is an act that helps one atone for their imperfect performances in life. We all have them were human. Should you wonder what one of the definitive diagnosis' of a human being is, it is that we are imperfect and mistakes are often second nature to us. What makes some humans seem to rise above the rest is that they acknowledge their failings and try not to repeat past mistakes, try to right any wrongs they may have created from prior mistakes so that in the end those seeming mistakes turn into a part of a greater good. That is redemption.

I don't agree with Hillary Clinton's total political views, but in her concession speech I saw a woman I had never seen, and sadly never knew. With her speech though I did come to see something I truly admired, and although she may not be my first choice when Obama chooses a running mate, she is far from my last choice either. That my friends is a major change for me, and who knows, perhaps my own little piece of redemption.