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Obama on MLK: Standing up straight in the face of injustice

A video of Barack Obama speaking at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s church this past Sunday is making the rounds on YouTube. With 318,000 + views, it's one of the most popular videos on YouTube right now. John Nichols at the Nation says same great things about it. I watched all 34 minutes of it. It's awesome. Here's the text from the most powerful moment in the speech:

Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap. That we would have to earn it, through great effort and determination. That's the unity, the hard earned unity that we need right now. That is the effort, the determination that can transform blind optimism into hope. People have remarked that I talk about hope a lot on may campaign. They tease me a little bit. Some have been scornful. They say, ah, he's talking about hope again. He's so idealistic, he's so naïve. He's a hope monger. That's ok. It's true, I talk about hope, pastor. I talk about it a lot. Because the odds of me standing here today, are so small, so remote, and I couldn't have gotten here without some hope. My daddy left me when I was two years old. I needed some hope to get here. I was raised by a single mother. I needed some hope to get here. I got in trouble when I was a teenager. Did some things folks now like to talk about. I needed some hope to get here. I wasn't born into money or great wealth, or great privilege, or status. I was given love, and education, and some hope. That's what I got. That's my birthright.

Take the time to watch the whole thing. How can you not be moved by this man's candidacy? He is the modern embodiment of the American Dream. Not to mention brilliant, inspiring, and experienced, in ways Hillary Clinton can only dream of.

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