Obamarama

Read this CNN article today. This bit in particular really hit me where I live:

Obama is the first candidate of his generation truly to be an agent of change who inspires, motivates and ignites the passion in a large segment of Americans who had ignored politics because it was unseemly and didn't move people to action.... Obama seeks to serve as a bridge between the divisions in America that exist between young and old, haves and have-nots, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats.

Yes. That's it exactly. I haven't been involved in politics in, like, forever. Honestly, it's all I can do to drag myself to the polling booth because I feel like I "should only vote for the politician who does the least damage", as my friend Mike Steffen once remarked. After listening to Obama speak, I've started to feel differently about politics... for the first time ever, I feel inspired to donate my time and resources toward politics. Why is that?

In a nation that's thrived for so long on polarizing its citizens simply to get better ratings—think Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Air America, Bill O'Reilly, evangelical Christians—Obama repeatedly focuses on the issues all Americans have in common. Which is a breath of fresh air, and a victory win for common sense.

And that's why Obama is so damned popular.