Obama's moment

FORGET all the chatter about what happens next and consider the full significance of the milestone: Sen. Barack Obama's historic first makes a nation proud.

Who would have imagined even a few years ago that a young African-American senator from Illinois with limited service in Congress would become the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee?

Obama has been called an elitist, but in truth he hails from humble beginnings. He was raised by a single mother with the help of his grandparents. He is the ultimate expression of the American dream.

The eloquent Obama often says, "This is our time, this is our moment." It is also his moment to savor, one for our country to pause and reflect upon.

Obama's candidacy has not been without racial overtones. But some pride derives from watching a leader from a new generation rise above traditional racial divisions.

Obama is a unifier who represents the possibility for America to improve its standing in the world. He is a role model. The message to children of all colors is: Work hard; you can achieve anything; you may even become president of the United States.

The importance of Obama surpassing the required delegate threshold reaches beyond America's tension-packed racial past. He gives voice to a generation that seeks peace in the world and advocates diplomacy over reckless cowboy talk and war.

Obama's speech after becoming the nominee resonates in many ways. Sen. John McCain, the Republican presumptive nominee, had offered to take Obama to Iraq to show him around. Obama shot right back, urging McCain to visit parts of America that have struggled with plant closings and mortgage foreclosures during the Bush presidency.

This editorial page endorsed Obama for the Democratic nomination, McCain for the Republican nomination.

Tuesday night belonged to Obama, even if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was ungracious and unwilling to give it to him.

Race relations in our country have progressed. Obama's achievement is all about change and new ways of thinking about old problems.