Republicans for Obama

I watched much of the first day of the DNC convention yesterday. Prior to the headliners of Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama, a former Republican Member of Congress, Jim Leach of Iowa, spoke to the floor. It was carried on CSPAN, but the political pundits sadly talked over it on the cable news channels. I made a point of finding it on YouTube and it was worth my time. It comes in at about 8.5 minutes and lays out too-the-point reasons as to why Barack Obama is the right man for the Presidency at this point in our history, a point where we must finally come back to moving forward as Americans and not as Republicans or Democrats.

TPM also had a post on the speech from a reader of the site, "KW," who is from the district that Leach served in Congress.

I think most people missed it if they weren't watching on line or on CSpan, but Jim Leach deilvered a masterful speech about why, as a Republican, he has endorsed Barack Obama. If you didn't see it, check it out on YouTube:

I know he sounds like Kermit The Frog and looks like a College Professor (which he is ;-)) -- but this is the sort of speech that inspires me -- careful, factual, and comprehensive, without being dry.

Full disclosure -- until he lost in 2006 to Dave Lobesack, Leach was the congressman for my district here in Iowa. He was well-liked in his district, and did a sterling job at the sort of direct constituent relations that never make headlines. But people in our district wanted his seat to move across the aisle for numerical reasons. In fact, one heavily played Dave Lobesack advert stated "Jim Leach is a good man, but he's part of a Republican Majority." (not the exact wording, but the closest I remember).

The YouTube video of the speech is found there as well.

26 August 2008