Our Man On The Floor: "And, Four Years Ago…"

Thank you so much. Four years ago, you gave me the honor of fighting our fight. I was proud to stand with you then, and I am proud to stand with you now, to help elect Barack Obama as president of the United States.  In 2004, we came so close to victory. We are even closer now, and let me tell you, this time we’re going to win.

…

In closing, let me say, I will always remember how we stood together in 2004, not just in a campaign but for a cause. Now again we stand together in the ranks, ready to fight. The choice is clear; our cause is just; and now is our time to make Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

"Four years ago."  "In 2004." 

It was not lost on anyone last night that, had Kerry been even halfway as straightforward and aggressive in ’04, this would have been his convention.   

It was that recognition that caused our photographer, Alan Chin, to catch this photo, and only this photo, of the fighting Kerry last night.  With Kerry, there is a forlorn quality that is inherent to the man.  Matched to the setting, however, there is a deeper irony here — a recognition, mirrored by those "2004’s", that this was as close to the top as he was ever going to get.

Read the transcript/YouTube.

(Images © Alan Chin.  Denver. 2008)