The best speech Sen. John McCain has delivered in the past six months was his concession speech. I say this not as an Obama supporter but as a fan of the old McCain. His concession speech was delivered from the heart to the American populace that's been bruised and jaded by aggressive campaigns.
During the past six months I watched a man whom I considered one of my favorite Republicans devolve into an angry ultra conservative. The inspiration in his speeches was gradually replaced with sarcasm and false accusations. His selection of the epitome of narrow-minded conservatism, Gov. Sarah Palin, as his running mate was the culmination of his shift in ideals.
This new McCain was not present last Tuesday night however. When he reaffirmed his "love for this country and for all its citizens," I began to feel hope. Not the kind of hope Sen. Barack Obama has been advertising, but a hope that this is the end of the McCain who isolated himself from centrists and intellectuals, and a return of a great politician whom I can once again call one of my favorite Republicans.
Jacob Warner
Graduate student
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