Eureka!: Rediscovering Class

I've often lamented in these pages the long, painful, regrettable death of Class. We as a people have forgotten how to be classy. How to open the door for people and how to say thank you when the waitress brings the food and how to give up your seat on the train to Gigantor the Pregnant Lady. How to smile at the angry 7/11 cashier even though you know (and likely understand) that he won't smile back and how to give an extra dollar to the tollbooth attendant so the next car that goes through your lane won't have to pay today and how to get down the suitcase from the overhead compartment so it doesn't decimate the little old lady who can't maneuver its great bulk. We've forgotten these things, somewhere in the giant web of our instant gratification-ADD-MeMeMe! society.

But just when I think all hope is lost, and we will never regain our Class, I read a quote from Barack Obama. And once again, Obama proves that he is a modern prophet of Class, and more than likely our last chance to restore our collective Class. As a nation. As world citizens. As human beings.

I withdrew my support for Hillary a few months ago, but I've never stopped admiring and respecting her. Just because she resorted to some typically political courses of action doesn't mean for a second that my adoration for Mrs. Clinton has waned. I desperately want to see her continue her good work, and I even more desperately want to see her as Vice President.

Barack on Hillary:

"We've certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who's shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning - even in the face of tough odds - is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children's Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency - an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton."

It couldn't have been better-stated. You are a class act, Mr. Obama.