It was an epic gathering at University of North Carolina late yesterday afternoon. Barack Obama spoke in front of 25,000 people just one day before the Big Day.
 

Even more poignant than the political significance was that earlier that day Obama learned his grandmother had died of cancer. It was she that had that raised Obama while his mother lived in Indonesia. All day, Obama held in his grief while he continued to campaign.
 

But when he showed up at UNC that façade cracked ever so slightly. In a rare moment, a presidential candidate actually appeared human. He spoke fondly of his grandmother, calling her a “quiet hero” like many other quiet heroes in America. It wasn’t what he said, though, that touched the audience. It was his demeanor. New York magazine details the moving display:

As Obama says all this, his voice is mostly steady, but tears are streaming down his right cheek — the first public tears he has shed, as far as I know, in his time on the national stage. When he finishes, he reaches inside his pocket, pulls out a white handkerchief, wipes his eyes, then carries on with his speech, returning a few times to the woman who shaped his character as much as anyone in the world.

This is definitely the stuff movies are made of.

(Photo Credit: AP-Charlotte, NC)