Obama?

Barak Obama is not the first black man to run for President, nor is Hillary Clinton the first woman. They are both, however, the first to have a chance at victory. Wouldn't it be great to be able to tell our children that we were there when the race/gender barrier was finally broken? I like Obama, but I had serious doubts that he could win. Now, after winning two primaries I'm feeling more confident. I don't like Obama because he's black. I like his ideas. His fresh take on things. His apparent disgust with the 'business as usual' state of American government. I would like him no matter the shade of his skin, but that might just make a difference to the millions of minority voters who have felt ignored for two centuries. As for Hillary, I liked the idea of her running for President back when Bill Clinton left office, but then she showed herself to be just as much a part of the establishment as any Washington fat cat, and I grew disillusioned. Then came the 'crying incident'. She was asked how she manages to gather the strength each day to carry on, and in her answer her voice shook and her eyes teared up, but she held it together. I've been around enough actors to spot fake tears, and in my opinion she was showing genuine emotion. As much as I hate to parrot pundits, it humanized her in my eyes. I still think that she is far more a member of the status quo than I'd like, but at least it seems that there is a tiny spark of empathy in her. That's more than I can say for any of the Republican candidates right now.
At this point I'm all for Obama. I have to wonder if this is what it was like for voters back when JFK was running for office. I have never been motivated to care about who got the nomination before, since they've all seemed to be cut from different sections of the same cloth. If the DNC weren't being so pig headed about Florida moving it's primary up I'd have probably changed my registration from Independent to Democrat. But it is nice to be able to say for once that no matter who wins the Democratic nomination; Barak, Hillary, or even John Edwards, I'll be happy to vote for them. That's a very rare feeling in this day and age.

Marius