Obama is Winning Me Over

I've already said that I'd vote for Obama in the primary, so it may not exactly sound like "news" that I'm being won over.  But my decision to vote for Obama in the primary was purely a political calculation.  Until last night, Obama was only the choice of my head.

You see, no matter who I've supported, the Clintons have always had my heart. Now that may be changing.

Someone Else Who Ran on Hope

In the early nineties, I was a young college student.  America was involved in a war in Iraq then too, the economy was tanking, and most of my generation was apathetic--famously so.  Then along came Bill and Hillary Clinton.  I stood outside in unbearable heat for hours to see him speak in Buffalo, New York.  I went in a skeptic.  I came out with a sure feeling that he was going to be the next President of the United States.  He had something electric about him, and it wasn't just his youth.

I didn't like everything Bill and Hillary Clinton did in office, but they improved my life.  They improved the quality of countless other lives too.  And they let me believe in my country in a way I haven't before or since. Hillary's accomplishments, her strength, her unwillingness to wither in the face of the ugliest sexism has paved the way for a generation of women after her who will probably never be gracious enough to thank her for it.

Of course, the Clintons have been extraordinarily blessed in their enemies.  The people who they've defeated have always become unhinged and thrown around accusations so wild and irrational that all the legitimate faults of the Clintons were minimized as a result.  So when the DailyKos becomes a Clinton-bash-fest, I don't think they're winning any votes to Obama's side.  At least, that's not how he's winning me.

The Transformation of an Obama Voter

In truth, I don't always like what Obama has to say.  I don't think he's exhibited saintly virtue on the campaign trail.  I don't think he'll fight as hard for my values as John Edwards.  I don't think he's a great savior and I know he'll disappoint me someday. I don't have the same deep and abiding affection for him that I have for the Clintons or even for John Edwards.

But when I watched him speak last night after his South Carolina victory, for just a minute, I felt like I was back at a rally in 1992.  I could smell the electricity in the air.  I had a feeling awakened in me that I haven't had in a long time--that this could be a transformative moment in our political history.  That even if Barack Obama didn't deliver on half his promises, even if he turned out to be a paper tiger when it came to confronting conservatives, he would still change America forever.

My heart yearns for that.  And when I saw him last night, for just a blink, I thought I was looking at the President of the United States.  So there may yet be room in my heart for Barack Obama, and if he can win both hearts and minds in the next ten days, he's going to be our nominee.