After all the silly season BS that’s been floating around this summer, it’s well worth your time to delve into this half hour of commanding substance.

Obama
“I don’t want to pit red America against blue America. I want to be president of the United States of America.”

Edwards
“It is time for us as a party to stand up with some backbone and some strength for what we actually believe in.”

Clinton
“Change is just a word if you don’t have the strength and experience to make it happen. We must nominate a nominee who has been tested, and elect a president who is ready to lead on day one.”

Part II
Part III

Richardson
“The leading candidates are talking about leaving troops [in Iraq] until 2013. Here’s my position. I will bring troops home within a year…. We will do it with American diplomacy.”

Watch this Edwards speech at the Georgia Jefferson-Jackson dinner this May. It just may change your opinion about John Edwards — in particular about how compelling a combination it is to be both a Southerner and an unabashed progressive.

As a modest counterweight to the normal sound bite politics, I’m going to be highlighting long-form interviews and speeches by the 2008 candidates over the coming weeks.

First up, Obama in this thoughtful, relaxed interview with Tavis Smiley: