I’ve got to admit, I’m having a little trouble maintaining my journalistic objectivity after what I just witnessed here. A super-symbolic moment as Illinois “yields” to New York — a gesture of respect from Obama‘s state to Clinton‘s. After an introduction, Hillary takes the mic. “On behalf of the great state of New York, with appreciation for the spirit and dedication of all who are gathered here, with eyes firmly fixed on the future … let’s declare together in one voice, right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be the next president. I move that Sen. Barack Obama be selected by this convention, by affirmation, as the nominee of the Democratic Party.”

Massive cheers and excitement. This was a surprise to pretty much everyone. There could have been no greater show of unity. The roll call stopped and the entire stadium screamed “yay!” to affirm Obama as the nominee. After a live band played “Love Train” (I know, weird), the arena erupted into “Yes we can!”

—Dana Goldstein

Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.