Nicholson and Hunt are at a restaurant. In the midst of an uncomfortable conversation, Hunt asks him to say something nice. Nicholson looks at Helen Hunt and says. "you make me want to be a better man."
It is the kind of moment where men and women alike sit back in stunned silence and rapt attention. In the simplicity of those words lay a powerful nexus of emotion, hope and ambition.
Political pundits and historians can and will write volumes about the last few months.
There will be the tales of Barack Obama's "shadow presidency", calming a fearful nation in the face of an economic crisis that the sitting-President just did not have the intellect or emotional energy to confront.
There will be the economic tomes about why the stimulus package was too much, too little or just right.
There will be the historians who tell the story behind the story of each and every appointment and news conference.
But the most powerful story of all will likely not be told by authors, historians or pundits. It will be written by the American people themselves over the next few years because as we have watched Barack and Michelle Obama and Joe and Jill Biden these past months: working at a soup kitchen, working out with the recruits at the gym in Hawaii, arranging a special dinner honoring John McCain, or describing and exemplifying the public service imperatives of honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, we have, in our hearts and minds come to a common conclusion similar to that of Jack Nicholson.
I may be wrong, but I don't think so. But to be safe, I'll just say it for myself. Mr. President, I hope you will understand how much it means to me to say this . . . Mr. President, you make me want to be a better man.
"We Will Never Forget"
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