Streaming Obama's big speech today, one of the great underrated sports movies of the last 10 years came to mind - Finding Forrester.

There's a great scene where Jamal, the basketball/writing phenom gets in an on-court fight with his teammate-rival. Their coach then has them duel at the free throw line until one misses, but they each make 50 shots in a row. They simply refuse to lose to one another. The coach goes, "That is the gutsiest thing I have ever seen on a basketball court."

Obama's speech was frank, personal, historical, nuanced, unflinching, courageous - yet graceful. It just rang true.

When you think about it, it shouldn't be the gutsiest speech I have ever heard from a viable presidential candidate. But it was. The guy just continues to impress.

I know he has close ties to the former pastor, but I don't think it's fair this story gets repeated in news cycle after news cycle - feeding off its own hype. Tonight CNN had some report of the highest douchebaggery on the "fiery" preaching in black churches and characterized the Wright issue as a potentially "mortal" blow to the Obama candidacy.

Jesus Fricking Christ. Like Wolf Blitzer never had some close friends with kooky political views. Like, maybe they believed in being extra shaggy, or something.

Maybe the whole pastor thing is overblown. Maybe it's unfair. But maybe all the overhype is good news for Obama, too: Perhaps it's a rite of passage.

I mean, the media always seems to give extra scrutiny to the front-runner, doesn't it? It's not like they put Bill Richardson or Joe Biden or Dodd under some thick national microscope before those guys eventually dropped out, did they? If the national media still put equal stock in Hillary's candidacy, wouldn't they be devoting equal attention to her tax returns? In a weird way maybe it sets Obama apart from Hillary as the eventual nominee. Perhaps the Texas/Ohio hype has calmed down and the delegate math is slowly sinking in.

Then again, maybe that's wishful thinking.

Whatever the case, I appreciated Barack's candor today. Honestly, I can go days where I forget I come from two very different backgrounds. Then, someone asks if I'm Italian, Mexican - or I'm in Venezuela and they recognize I'm not Latino and just ask, "Arabe"?

Or, I listen to Barack talk about finding identity in trying to bridge the divide between friends and family and know exactly what he means. There's a reason I feel so strongly about this candidacy.

And the more I think on it, I can then totally see why women feel so strongly about Hillary, even if she sorta sucks in that tired power-hungry Clinton way, you know? And I think that's a great back-handed compliment to close on this evening.

Garcon, more wine!