With one more week of predominantly negative campaigning to go before election day, a site called WriteSpirit was sort of a breath of fresh air...which is odd, because most of the speeches and quotes housed there are decades-old. The most striking speeches of such great thinkers as Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi are available in the Inspirational People area, including JFK's unforgettable 1963 inaugural address:
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."
Excellent site! And I'm betting that the bulk of quotes there will cease to be "decades old" as our eloquent new president begins stacking up memorable lines like this one: "To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too."
I'm a diehard Obama supporter, and no fan of any of the policies of John McCain, but, I've got to admit that one of the most effective lines I've ever heard a politician deliver came from McCain--not during this campaign, of course, but back when he was running for his senate seat. Apparently, his greatest disadvantage while running for his senate seat in Arizona was the short length of his residence in that state, and his opponent was using this against him with great success. Until one press conference when a reporter hit him directly with the question of what qualified such a short-term resident to represent the people of Arizona. He answered that, because he'd lived his life in the military, he'd never lived anywhere for very long. In fact, said McCain, the longest he'd ever lived in one place was the time he spent in Hanoi.