Barack H. Obama

Republicans are saying his followers treat him as a Messiah.

Pundits claim that his supporters are almost gaining a cult status.

The media paints him as a sensation and "rock star" of the political world.

And of course, he brings to mind concepts of "change", "hope", and "inspiration."

...But just who is this Barack Obama and what is he doing to our political system?

Now that he's gained frontrunner status and is quickly hacking away at Hillary Clinton's once untouchable wall of support, Senator Obama finds himself under more scrutiny than ever before. The critiques at the beginning of this post come from the latest wave of media attention to his rise; of course, the Clinton camp is once again busting out the "all talk and no action" criticism. Objectively, the latter attack is a load of hogwash. One only needs to listen to the past debates, read his website, or listen to his latest stumps to know that he is merging speeches with solutions and talk with action. Besides, Sen. Obama is a huge hit with the most educated Americans. Surely the smartest in this country can't all be making a poor decision, can they?

Now I'd like to address all of those who are calling his base mindless and cultlike. Barack Obama is getting people excited about politics. Since when is that a bad thing? Back during the Jacksonian Era when the soon-to-be-president gave rise to the modern party system, the electorate had fun with politics. Granted, most of them were too dumb to understand it completely, but that didn't stop them from having gatherings and being loud and proud of their candidate. But you don't see that very often nowadays. Politics has become corrupt, old, and tired. It's the same ol' old guys spitting out the same ol' rhetoric and doing the same ol' nothing as soon as they get into office. Perhaps that a slight generalization, but the fact that I can feasibly be so cynical is a sign that something is wrong.

On the Democratic side, the issues are a moot point. One one hand, both candidates generally believe the same things. And more importantly, expect to see platforms and plans moderate more and more as the eventual winner gets closer to the White House. Thus, personality and energy are the main differentiating factors between Obama and Clinton. So tell me, who would you rather see? A lifelong politician who is a member of the old Washington aristocracy who, despite her gender, will bring nothing new to American politics? Or a younger man with enough experience whose mere presence and platform are enough to get the electorate excited about its country again? I don't know about you, but the second choice sounds much more appealing...

I say "enough" experience because at least he's been in politics for all of his professional career; nothing can truly prepare you for the seat in the Oval Office. But still, this fact bothers some people. They want to emphasize his lack of time in Washington and downplay how he interacts with crowds. But let's think about something. Americans in their 20s and 30s, the future leaders of our nation, are currently completely disillusioned with the current system--the politics of our parents. Obama gets us excited. Regardless of if he's full of BS or not, he makes us care. And if elected president, he'll have advisors and a Cabinet to help him make all of the important decisions. But above all, he'll have us excited to participate in politics again. He'll have us getting involved with the American system because he'll be a president who inspires us to take control of our country. We, the future of the United States, will get over our disillusionment and realize that we can make a difference. And that will lead to higher morality, greater efficiency, better democratic responsiveness, and more. Oh, and don't forget that all of those things tend to help the economy, too.

Perhaps you think I'm being irrational or too idealistic. And hey, that's fine; to each his own, right? But I honestly believe that all of this nonsense about an empty candidate with no plans and his own cult is incredibly shortsighted. What Barack Obama is doing right now is exactly what we, and the rest of the country, need at the moment, and the closer he gets to success the better off the USA will be in the long run.