Senator Ted Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, defied expectations today by showing up at the convention in person to endorse the American Dream Candidate, Senator Barack Obama.
Senator Kennedy is fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer — an illness serious enough that nobody would have thought less of him if he had chosen to deliver his message on video instead. But, he explained in a strong, clear voice, he could do nothing less — because in spite of his illness, he believes that today is “a season of hope”:
My fellow Democrats, my fellow Americans, it is so wonderful to be here.
And nothing — nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight.
I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals, and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States…
For me this is a season of hope — new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many, and not just for the few — new hope.
And this is the cause of my life — new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American — north, south, east, west, young, old — will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.
We can meet these challenges with Barack Obama. Yes, we can, and finally, yes, we will…
There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination — not merely victory for our Party, but renewal for our nation.
And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.
The dream lives on. Indeed.
(Full transcript here; I’ll post video of Senator Kennedy’s speech too once I can track it down.)
UPDATE (11:15PM): Found the video:
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