Under the Capitol dome yesterday, the excitement in the air was palpable. A special visitor was in the building. Members of Congress, media, and tourists competed for a closer look…and perhaps an opportunity to shake his hand or obtain his autograph. But it wasn’t Bono; it was Obama. Barack Obama, the tall, young Senator from Illinois, fresh off the campaign trail, exuded the quiet confidence of one who possesses a virtual lock on the Democratic nomination to be the next President of the United States.
A Gallup poll released yesterday showed our current President with an approval rating of just 28 percent. Is it any wonder the people are restless to make a change? Citizens sense in Barack Obama a leader dedicated to lifting up America – rebuilding alliances with our international partners, talking with adversaries, restoring America’s credibility abroad, returning fiscal integrity to the federal budget process, reaching across the aisle to partner with political opponents to solve America’s most pressing problems – in short, to govern, as the people have a right to expect their elected leaders to do.
(To govern? Hmmmm...what a novel idea?)
20,000 people in Houston, 35,000 more at a rally in Philadelphia. It’s a scene repeated in every state where he has campaigned. The excitement that follows Obama reflects an impatience for the better days that lie ahead for our republic.
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