The Hopemonger

This morning, I listened to Barack Obama speak at a rally. In Boise!

Everything I had heard — and hoped — is true. He really IS that cool: incredibly eloquent, amazingly magnetic, absolutely inspiring and very dynamic. He was funny, he was stylish, he was handsome, he was intelligent, he was on message. He played Stevie Wonder and the Chi-Lites. He was, in a word, cool.

We waited in line for 45 minutes to get a seat, and there were thousands of people who lined up in 25-degree weather with us. The 12,000-seat venue was standing room only, and they had to set up speakers outside so that the overflow crowd could hear. This is unheard of in Idaho. The last time we had a major political figure give a stump speech here was in the 1970s when Frank Church ran against Jimmy Carter in the primary. And he was a native.

I'm going to caucus for Obama on Tuesday. I know it sounds corny, but I am incredibly excited to do this. Everyone always talks about the Kennedys and how they felt about JFK or Bobby. I didn't think that would ever come along in my generation. I thought that maybe we were all too cynical for someone like that, and who could ever have that much charisma? But this may be the guy. If he loses on Tuesday it won't be for lack of trying, but if he loses we will be missing the greatest opportunity to change the status quo in the last 45 years.