13 Seconds that may change the world

Well, not really 13 seconds, but 13 seconds of video are all that exist. Here they are:


On October 2, 2002, Barack Obama gave this speech to a Chicago anti-war rally. Here is the text of entire speech.

With just over a week until the election, it is important to note that this speech, assuming nothing goes horribly wrong in the last 8 days, probably will win Barack Obama the Presidency. A speech given by a little known Illinois Democratic State Senator (who was probably going to run for the United States Senate in 2004, although nobody outside of Illinois knew it) taking a position against the Iraq war that was, at the time, not only terribly unpopular in the country as a whole, but even unpopular within his own party.

Now, I know Obama was not the only politician who believed the Iraq war was dumb, I suspect many who voted for the war thought so too, but he was one of the very few to publicly take a stand. And, yes, he would give the universally praised Democratic Convention keynote address in 2004. But, it was this speech, this judgement, this act of courage, that Obama wielded against Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic contenders in Iowa.

A lot has changed since then. Of course, Obama ran a brilliant primary campaign and put forth a message, not only about the war but about all the issues, that seems to have resonated with the voters. And although our attention has shifted, right or wrong, to the economy, with 8 days left I thought it was important to take a moment to remember these 13 seconds.