yeh, i know he hasn't been elected yet, i was taking into account the 'lock' that you mentioned. or more accurately i didn't feel like typing out "soon to be first term senator" which he is the jackie robinson of without considering any future white house bids.

i am getting tired of the barriers being knocked down shit though. he will be the first black male democrat elected to the senate. something about that many qualifiers that takes a little away from an achievement i think. like in baseball "he has the most strikeouts by a lefty throwing over 50 pitches a game with an ERA under 3 in the national league when facing batters vaguely familiar with the work of John Irving"

i still like obama though, and i'm not even in his state.

i finally heard mention of him somewhere other than this site... on teevee, maybe ten days ago, his name came up in a conversation on a political talkshow as someone to watch, a political fellow with a bright future. this is the only time i have ever heard anyone mention him other than on this site. and i watch a lot of political talk shows! how could anybody watch the DNC last night, up against programming like celebrity poker on bravo, and the show about the templars on, what was it, the history channel?

so how is it in illinois? his name is all over the place, huh? like, hear it every day?

From what I've read about Obama and the interviews I've seen, he seems to really relish the legislative process. I wouldn't be surprised if he was more interested in serving for 40 years in the Senate and not making a run at the top job. There's a great piece about/interview with him by John Kass in today's Chicago Tribune which is worth the 2 minutes of registration to get at:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/colu ... ul27.story

Looking forward to tonight's big address!

so how is it in illinois? his name is all over the place, huh? like, hear it every day?

yes

obama himself is saying the hype is ridiculous

he's on a major, major roll

the republicans cannot find anyone to run against him. it's pretty funny.

i like him

he thinks on his feet. i like any liberal politician who can explain shit in short order and think on his feet.

but it might be the kiss of death to give him the keynote. it's almost as bad as being on the cover of sports illustrated. i mean, there's clinton, ok, but evan bayh? ann richards? mario cuomo? are there people besides whose political careers skyrocketed after giving a keynote address at the democratic convention, like, in the last thirty years?

FUCKING A.

that was awesome. awe-inspiring. he's what a great politician is like in a classic movie, something i don't feel like i've ever seen in the real world in my lifetime. not a politician in the sense that even a good real-world politican evokes, but more of an idealized version of what a politician *should* be like, almost like a dream, imaginary. an actual *leader*, and one that i would feel honored to follow.

i'm proud of his beleifs. in awe of his presence. i'm also very scared for him, because i can see right now throngs of people (what terms did he use to describe negative spin doctors?) lining up to plan their attack on him. i'm sure this put their fear over the edge if it wasn't already. when he said the parts about "the *UNITED STATES* of america", i was thinking, this guy is gonna be president. this guy will win. and that's the same thing one of the commentators said when his speech ended. so i'm scared for him. because there must be people lining up to tear him down, already.

he's exactly what they fear most... someone who charismatically speaks the real truth, not the politically spun truth, he cares about *people*, and for that he will be widely loved and respected. if allowed to fluorish, he will bring about some serious fucking change in this world, not by himself, but by changing others. i mean, i hesitate to make comparisons to JFK or MLK, but seriously, i'm scared. i've only ever heard him talk for those few minutes and i adamantly don't want him to go away. if that speech is any representation of him, a true glimpse into him and his promise for the future, i want him to be president in THIS election, and serve for 10 TERMS. he actually gives *ME* a sense of HOPE! NOBODY does that!

man, and i thought i liked edwards.

wow, I just watched his speech on the CNN website. The guy sure has his shit together. I heard things about him, but this went beyond my expectations. Good looking, smart, and articulate. If he keeps his dick in his pants and his nose clean, he will be president. Shit, i'd vote right now for him, and I know I'm not the only one. He reminds me a bit of a non burned out Colin Powell. He has "it". I saw the dude speak and it really never occured to me that he was "black". There have to be some serious right wingers pooping thier pants in fear at this guy. Malcolm X meets MLK in a freindly non threatening black package. I really want to believe the hype. The black JFK?

he was great

real sharp

from what I saw last night...not crap

WOW!!! I saw his speech last night and I was inspired and hopeful for our future (for a moment anyway). It'll be a few days before I can come up with my own words to describe my feelings but for now I agree with TooMany & Capnreverb.

I'm trying to find a video of it so I can pass it to everybody...

That shit brought tears to my eyes. Just... WOW!!!

There is video at www.cspan.org.

Play it at work.