and is indeed no surprise to those who listen to his oratory.  All of us - in our ideas and in our words and in our actions - stand on the shoulders of others.   I am more concerned by the fact that Mr. Obama and his supporters actually seem to think that his words are equal to the words of Dr. King and The Declaration of Independence.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   August 28, 1963

I do not believe it lessens Dr. King's skill as an orator or his tremendous personal courage to note that this still spine tingling speech was the climax of hundreds of years of struggle by persons both black and white to free our country from the sin of slavery.  In just the nine years preceding the "I have a dream..." speech the separate but equal barrier had received its first blows with Brown v. The Board of Education, Mrs. Parks had made her stand by refusing to stand, nine incredibly brave children and their parents had integrated Little Rock schools under the protection of the 101st Airborne Division, James Meredith had integrated the University of Mississippi and hundreds, thousands of equal acts of courage had occurred that were not so heralded.  Then in 1963 - against the wishes of John and Robert Kennedy - there was the March on Washington that was crowned by the magnificent oratory of Dr. King; that oratory began the second push up the mountain to The Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

Again, I do not believe it diminishes Dr. King or the Civil Rights Movement in any way to say that the actual piece of legislation would not have made its way through the Congress that year had it not been for the aggressive, arm twisting, old-fashioned political acumen of a son of the Old South: Lyndon Baines Johnson.  Vernon Jordan has said that the only time he was moved to tears by a President was the evening Lyndon Johnson, in the well of the Senate, echoed the words of the hymn when he repeatedly used the phrase, "We shall overcome" in his Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise.

I do not mean to condescend to the African American community by cataloging these events.  I am sure they are far more aware than I of the many sacrifices made to achieve the improved but as yet not totally fulfilled promise of America.  Yes, "I have a dream" are more than just words: they are literally the blood and sweat of good and courageous people - both black and white - in the pursuit of the American Dream for all of its people.  They are far, far too sacred to be bandied about as part of a cult of personality that has become more like a Beatles concert than political campaign.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The Declaration of Independence

Likewise, The Declaration of Independence is a document that is built on acts of great human courage; as a written document it builds on the myriad previous philosophies including those of John Locke and on the pamphlet tradition so rampant throughout the colonies but  done no better than by Thomas Paine in Common Sense.  As with the Civil Rights Movement there are so, so many better equipped to discuss the historical and philosophical specifics of The Declaration.  I can speak with authority only in what it means to me: The Declaration of Independence is a watershed between not knowing what it was to be an American and knowing for certain what it was to be an American.  The Declaration of Independence articulates the rights of the people in regard to their government, what they may expect of it and how they may - if the need arises - dissolve it.  People who may have no idea from what document the words are drawn, know that in the United States they have the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

Not being an Obama-ite, I do not see that Senator Obama's words - stirring though they are to some - bear any relation to this seminal document.  Yes, the words of The Declaration were intent to drive a stake, to say here we stand but they did that by articulating an idea, not by floating words above a swooning crowd.

With all due respect to Senator Obama and - if she were ever stirred to give the speech I know she has in her somewhere - Senator Clinton, the words of Dr. King and the words of The Declaration of Independence can in no way be compared to any rhetoric uttered so far in the quest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.