Barack Obama is speaking in Madison, Wisconsin. And one of his first lines was a note of gratitude to the state's Democratic governor, Jim Doyle. Nothing too exciting there, I know, except for the way he introduced Doyle--Obama thanked him for “working tirelessly on behalf of the
working families of wisconsin.”
Those of you who have read my comments after earlier primaries know that one of my main concerns with Obama is that he talks too much about his movement--too much about change for change's sake--and too little about concrete issues. Policy seems like an afterthought, which is fine if you like great oratory (and, to be clear, I do) but not so fine if you want your presidential candidate to start building a mandate for particular reforms.
So while an early shout-out to working families may be boilerplate for most candidates, for Obama it actually has some significance.
Still, let's see how the rest of the speech goes.
Update: Yup, I'm liking this speech. Lots of talk about standing up for workers, giving them a purpose.
--Jonathan Cohn