Understanding the appeal

As I've said before, I'm tremendously excited about the prospects of any one of the Democratic big three becoming president. I think all three, though they have significant stylistic differences, could and would be excellent leaders. The struggle to pick a favorite candidate, for me and for many people I know, has largely been one of attempting to determine which candidate has the *best* combination of goals and ability to implement them.

Obviously, though, Senator Barack Obama has transcended that kind of analysis for millions of people. And after I (finally) began actually watching him in action recently, rather than reading the transcripts and the news reports and the interviews, it's not hard to see why. Continued after the jump.

For so many people, and this is crucially true for young voters, the question was, which candidate -- if any -- will best represent our goals. But no politician, perhaps since Bill in 1992, was one of us. For young people, the awkward and aloof styles of Kerry and Gore were not something to get excited about. Dems vote for Dems, sure, and electability was a big issue and all of that . . . but there wasn't any excitement; they were FOR us, not OF us.

When people describe candidates as being "normal" or "down to earth", it's actually a much greater compliment than it sounds. To have someone represent what you'd want to have done is nice, but for an elected official -- a politician! -- to give you the sense that he's a part of what you're part of, well, that's something special. For a 46 year old black man to give so many people that sense is nothing short of amazing. And it's revolutionizing this campaign.

That element isn't a make or break factor in my vote, and if I didn't think he was a committed progressive, charisma wouldn't matter at all. But for many, it's enough . . . and I can understand why.