As one who has long had a great ability to back exciting unsuccessful candidates for the Democratic Presidential nomination, I join many, many Daily Kos participants in thinking that this year is different.
The Obama campaign is for real.
Barack Obama's strong and rising support in public opinion polls shows that. So do his record-shattering number of volunteers and campaign contributors.
As so many here now know, and some can hardly believe, Obama is now winning in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina--the first three states to vote--and defeating all five Republicans seen to have a chance to get the Presidential nomination in head to head national matchups.
I spent parts of a couple days for Obama in December, chronicled here earlier, and will go back for several more days on January 5. I am impressed that Obama has the right experience--a mixture of strong character, state government, and federal experience--and the kind of strong national base that can help him lead the Democrats to both victory and an administration of which the country will be proud.
There is no shortage of anger, cynicism, and defeatism in country today. But the national mood of our country starts from the top. Obama at his best has similar inspirational qualities to John F. Kennedy at his best.
If we want to change the direction of our country for the better, we need to expand the electorate to those who now feel left out of it and expand the base of public participation to those who feel discouraged by a dreary succession of disappointments and vindications of low expectations.
Certainly, no one man and no one administration can do the impossible. But an Obama Administration can create a new sense of what is possible, and help change the direction of American government for years to come.