Will he walk on water during his acceptance, or merely transform Denver tap into decent Merlot?

I might vote for this guy, but I can already hear the sound of impatient lefty hearts breaking across the USA as (and if and when) they realize this guy is 1) Not going to get the majority of our troops out of Iraq within the first 100 days, or even 200 days (phase withdrawals and redeployments take significant time even under the best of circumstances); 2) Going to be be very lucky to pass some form of watered-down 'universal' health care by the end of his first term; 3) Is very, very likely to add significant amounts to our national debt and deficit, according to his announced spending and tax plans (which, of course, means fewer services and higher taxes down the road--then again, I meet and hear from few lefties who actually care about budgets and national finances, as though such things don't play a part in society)

At least the right-wingers will be pissed off, too, with many of them crying their tears to Jesus.

Should be required reading before people vote for anyone this year, especially Obama, who commands so many fragile hopes:

He's a politician. A charismatic one, but a politician all the same. He won't CHANGE your life or make you a better person. He'll be inheriting 8 years of numbskullery abroad, a tanking economy and an energy crisis. Don't expect magic folks.

As little as $5? Fantastic. Or, if you're desperate to secure that spot, you could chock up as little as $30,000 to be in the same room as him!

FWIW, the NYTimes's editorial on Obama, published last Friday, is a worthwhile read.

If you get it, then why in the hell are people so overly smitten with the guy?! I went to that Chicago 2016 rally a few weeks back, and there were people who were practically hyperventilating because "oh, oh, I think he's looking this way, look, look, his eyes....oh, oh!!"
Backtrack over Chicaoists postings with 'Obama' and tell me if Obama is either the name of self pleasuring device, or a politician?

Do you really think Chicagoist would be posting about Obama if he wasn't from here for godsakes?

Yeah, I do. Here's why: For better or worse, Obama has sparked feelings of hope and optimism in way not seen among the left and left-leaning indies and younger voters for some 30 years. Many in the country clearly long for the change Obama seems to promise and many of those real and would-be voters are letting themselves get caught up in the emotions that naturally arise from such a political situation. I have no doubt Chicagoist still would be caught up in the excitement, as this site does reflect its readers more or less.

That's is not bad or evil or immoral or ignorant, as long as it is not carried too far.

The problems is when those who think more with emotions than cold logic find themselves disappointed when Obama--whom some have treated as almost a religious figure, like it or not--fails to fulfill all the lefty hopes. Disappointment sets in. So does cynicism and, perhaps, its close cousin, apathy. That is bad, not only for those let-down fellow citizens, but for the rest of us, who now have to deal with even more apathy and cycnicsm, which hamper progress.

I find it better, and much more fun, to criticize and mock those impossible, inflated hopes now in so that some of my good-hearted fellow citizens do not fall into the same trap that led many of our parents and grandparents disappointed, cynical and apathetic after, say, the 1972 presidential election, or the first term of James Earl Carter. I find it more useful to provide a realistic counterweight to the more emotional voters among us.

(This all assumes, of course, that Obama is not your standard Chicago-style huckster, a hard thing to believe given the involvement of Axelrod and others in Obama's campaign. I hope I am 100% wrong, because we dearly need more than a standard Chicago-style huckster at this point in our history. And we need more than McCain, too.)

Naive and soon to be dissapointed if you like the guy...

Uh, no. Naive and disappointed only if you are a leftie and really think that Obama has the power to do all that you wish, such as leaving Iraq at the click of his fingers. Feel free to read what I actually wrote, especially in the first post, and comment on that and not merely what you thought I wrote, as seems to be your most notable talent, as least here.

naive if you vote third party....

Naive only if you think the USA will ever have something more than a two-party system with a strong executive--that is, a system more akin to Asian and European parlimentary models. Geez--didn't I teach you this a while ago? Nothing wrong with voting for whomever you want. It is just foolish to expect anything more than a 2-party system that from time to time evolves as new party structures replace dying ones.

Thanks again Matilda for reminding me why I'm not voting for either Obama or McCain.

Really? You had lost sight of your likely vote so easily that you needed some bored asshole from some Web site to remind you? I am skeptical, though I guess I shouldn't expect more than mundane sarcasm from some people.

Thanks for playing, though. It has been grand, as always.