MILWAUKEE, WI - Before tonight's speeches John Nichols of The Nation observed that this would be the first time in a long time that Clinton and Obama would be together in a place where they'd be competing for applause.

As you might have guessed, it wasn't much of a competition. Obama is so vastly superior to Clinton in delivering a speech it's almost unfair. He was greeted with an enthusiastic standing ovation, received numerous standing ovations during his speech, and left the crowd standing, and buzzing, as he exited the stage to "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder.

Obama's remarks ran more than 40 minutes and covered more policy detail than usual. He spent a portion of time running through the details of his healthcare program, clearly defending against Clinton's ongoing attack that his plan leaves out 15 million people.

In the end, however, it was vintage Obama: lofty, inspiring rhetoric about "change" that resonated with the party activists in the room. One of the reasons the Clinton campaign is frustrated about their inability to lay a glove on Obama is because of the deftness of his responses.

Just days ago Clinton rolled out her new slogan about "being in the solutions business." Obama took that claim on directly tonight, casting the it (as he has with other attempts by Clinton to exploit a similar argument) as the idea that "words don't matter." Then he utterly demolished it.

"Don't tell me that words don't matter," Obama said, his voice rising with indignation and scorn. "I have a dream. Just words. All men are created equal. Just words. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. Just words."

Obama acknowledged that, "it's true speeches won't solve our problems," but he countered that by saying that inspiring the American public through words to achieve change is a critical part of the process. So is hope. "Nothing worthwhile in this country has ever happened unless someone somewhere was willing to hope," Obama told the crowd to cheers.

Just over a year ago 15,000 people turned out in 20 below weather in Springfield, Illinois to hear Barack Obama officially announce his intention to run for President of the United States. At the time, he was a rock star, and the question was whether the skinny freshman Senator could sustain the same kind of enthusiasm for his candidacy or fall prey to being a flash in the pan.

A year later, he's not only sustained the same level of enthusiasm, he's built on it, pulling in crowds by the tens of thousands across the country. Whether or not he wins the Democratic nomination, or potentially the presidency, he truly has become a phenomenon unlike any we've seen in American politics in a long, long time.