He's the guy

A couple of weeks ago, I cited a piece by Josh Marshall about Barack Obama's campaign suggesting that, "Obama isn't so much running for the nomination in the sense of reaching out and taking it. He's trying to show us how marvelous he is (and this isn't snark, he's really pretty marvelous) so that Democratic voters will recognize it and give him the nomination."

I'm here to tell you that I was wrong, and Josh Marshall was wrong.

Last night, I saw Obama in person for the first time. It wasn't the kind of intimate gathering you may have seen in his TV ads, but a huge rally on the Boston Common--a rally organized in just a few days, since Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced that he would endorse Obama.

Forget the media story line on Obama--that he hasn't put out clear policy statements, that he hasn't been willing to mix it up, that he hasn't stated a reason for his campaign. I don't know if that was true earlier, but that wasn't the guy that I saw last night.

When he speaks to crowds of ordinary citizens, Obama is all about change. He is, truly, the only serious presidential candidate dedicated to changing the way this nation has been led for the past forty years. It's not a matter of policy, but of attitude--the idea that the nation should lead the world by example (Jimmy Carter tried this, but was ineffective), that this nation is a commonwealth (that we're all in this together), that government should help the least of us, not those who already have wealth and power.

It is fashionable to point out that Americans elected George Bush--the guy you'd rather sit around and chew the fat with--over Al Gore who, you may recall, was roundly criticized for rolling his eyes and sighing at W's fabrications. Leaving aside the fact that more voters chose Gore than Bush, that analysis misses a vital point: the character of the candidates is more important than the specifics of policy. Why? Because we don't know what the real issues will be between now and 2012. True, health care and Iraq may well continue to be the matters that concern Americans, but most presidents face challenges that were but dimly imagined--if they were thought of at all--during the campaign.

Other candidates --most notably John Edwards--talk about change, but it's a veneer. Obama seeks a new way of thinking about politics and the place of our leaders in the nation's life. In that, he stands alone. He's the guy.