Here's "Country I Love," Barack Obama's first ad as his party's nominee for the general election. It'll be running in 18 states, a signal of the cash-rich Obama campaign's decision to contest almost every part of the country in his race for the presidency. Your takeaway: Barack likes America just as much as white people do... because he is one! Maybe that's a little cynical, so your editor will admit this: When Obama closed with the line "[I]f I have the honor of taking the oath of office as president, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love," I gave a little gasp, just because, well, how amazing is it that we're in a time and place where this is even possible? And that's about all the optimism I've got left for the week.

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