You have to hand it to Barack Obama. He is by far the best orator on the American political scene today. (A lot of credit, too, goes to his speechwriters, including Ben Rhodes, an alum of this blog.) This morning’s performance in Philadelphia was no exception. With that serene, seemingly effortless confidence we’ve come to expect, candidate Obama transformed what most observers would consider a major liability—his association with the bombastic Rev. Wright—into an apparent asset.

The argument can be generally outlined as follows: Race is too important an issue to ignore, even though one election will not solve it. While Rev. Wright can be inflammatory and impolitic, he says what black Americans say and think every day. Thus, Obama argues, we should reject Wright’s venom, while respecting his insight into the problem. America’s best hope for racial reconciliation lies in the shared belief that justice is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

A lot of politicians might appreciate this speech merely as a masterful political maneuver, a way to deflect criticism without apologizing, acknowledging a mistake, or rejecting an important constituency. But I think there’s more to it. I listened to this speech as the first of what will be many moments of truth for Obama’s “come together” campaign ideology—moments that will arise in the social and economic policy debate, and even on national security issues. This time at least, Obama has grabbed hold of the challenge, held it up to the light, and with precision and honesty begun to bring hostile and distrustful groups a bit closer to national reconciliation.

If Obama seeks to be the candidate of broad based racial healing, and not just an individual breaking a glass ceiling, he’ll have a lot of work cut out for him. But he seems already to have made that choice, and he is way past the tipping point. Having raised the tough issues, having offered Americans a glimpse into what just a bit of brutal honesty might help us achieve, he’s got to take it all the way. He will face immense pressure from the longtime beneficiaries of interest group politics, and he must be prepared to lose their support rather than appease them.

To those of you who remember that Across the Aisle is supposed to be about foreign policy, this post might seem a bit off-topic. I admit that I couldn’t help commenting on this morning’s big story. But let me also suggest that reconciling bitter rivalries within America may be the first step toward broader reconciliation in the world. Americans must not only speak with one voice on the world stage, but we must be prepared to lead by example if we hope that others will choose honesty, restraint and compassion over conflict. You could hardly call this morning’s remarks a foreign policy speech, but it might just offer the best glimpse so far of Barack Obama as Diplomat-in-Chief.

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