It grew strength from the young people, who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
The Goldstone Report sparked outrage in Israel, which said that its three-week assault on Gaza was legitimate self-defense against years of Palestinian rocket attacks.
But to no one would she grant her confidence, answering all taunts with bitter sarcasm, and all serious expostulation with sullen denial, or with floods of tears.
Obama countered with a trace of sarcasm that he didn't understand some things - like how US could face the challenge in Afghanistan after spending years and hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq.