Barack Obama's victory speech contained some especially moving passages about 106-year old Atlanta voter Ann Nixon Cooper, stuff that made even our crusty, cynical selves tear up like a Jesse Jackson/Oprah sandwich last night.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
Good stuff - and especially satisfying because we already knew about this Ann Nixon Cooper. CNN ran a heartwarming piece about her on October 20th. We know, we know, our hearts are getting so warm we're worried they might overheat.
-- Jake Kalish is the author of Santa vs. Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights
