Air and Simple Gifts

I am sitting in the Interpretive Center--a museum that celebrates the struggle for, and the eventual passing of, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The museum sits about halfway between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama--on the road that paved Obama's road to office.

I sit with 150 high school students and a handful of their teachers. The room is silent except sniffles and cheers.

The handful of remaining people are the foot soldiers of the movement, volunteers from the Freedom Foundation, park rangers, reporters and producers.

Today, Barack Obama holds the attention of each of them.