Gabby Douglas Personifies the American Dream

From Bill Reiter, at Fox Sports, "DOUGLAS IS SYMBOL FOR AMERICAN DREAM":

“I just wanted to seize the moment,” the 16-year-old said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. The team final hasn’t sunk yet. It will though. It will.”

It will for her, and it will for all of us, too. It is sinking even now, that joy that we felt when Douglas became the first American to win both a team gold medal and the individual all-around gold medal morphing into the meaning behind those feelings. This was special, what happened in London, something transcendent to fight back against the pessimism rampant in today’s headlines and worries.

US gymnast Gabby Douglas will win your heart in London. Douglas — bouncing up and down in her glowing shoes, smiling, throwing out jokes and being so innocent, so much the happy kid she was — had become a walking, visceral, inspiring projection of the American Dream. All that’s great about our country was suddenly reflected in a golden hue from Gabby Douglas right back at us.

And a video report at ABC News, "Gabby Douglas Wins Gymnastics Gold Medal."