I’ve been putting off writing this piece on my support and hope for Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy for many weeks, as cascades of positive news continues to pour in and entices me to add them to my essay. However, those testimonials and evidence of ever-growing support for the Illinois Senator simply add to a story whose essence hasn’t changed. I still vividly remember hearing Senator Obama speak (part 1, 2) at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and wondering why he wasn’t the nominee; that sentiment quickly turned into wishing. I didn’t even know anything about his politics at the time. In fact, I had never heard of him before that night, but I was glued to my seat, inspired, hopeful again that real possiblity for change in government still existed. Thankful for modern technology in the form of my DVR, I watched his speech twice.

Despite political rhetoric claiming that Senator Obama lacks any substance and only offers eloquent and moving speeches, a quick look at his campaign’s website will show otherwise. It is practically offensive of any opposing candidate that continues with this argument at this point, offensive to the millions of voters who have voted for Senator Obama already and given him a lead in the Democratic Party’s delegate count.

But policy statements alone do not dictate what makes a great leader. And what president or other national leader ever walked into office already knowing everything they needed for that position? Ever? If we really desire some completely qualified individual to become president, then we would have “President Universities” and the candidates would take a test to see who would be the best, essentially foregoing the process grounded in democracy that we have now.

Symbolism is a powerful thing. America is a symbol for much of the rest of the world. Despite our current administration’s hubris (among other things) in invading Iraq, and subsequent mishandling of the situation, people still flock to our shores. Imagine our standing, how we are viewed by the rest of the world if our government and particularly our president were worthy of respect.

Inspiration is a powerful thing. It has been said by many throughout this campaign and I’ll repeat it, Barack Obama is a once-in-a-generation candidate. He is inspiring when he emotes that change for the better can happen, and if words alone out of the mouth of the president does it, then more power to him. But he’s not saying that. He has positions on how that change should be brought about. Senator Clinton is capable and smart but is she inspirational? My argument is that she would make a good president, having been inside the White House and worked in Congress for a number of years, and certainly orders of magnitude better than the current office holder, but Senator Obama is right in that her approach would more than likely be the same. Her using the word ‘change’ rings hollow.

Lawrence Lessig, a Professor of Law at Stanford and of Creative Commons licenses fame, put together a fantastic video outlining why he supports Obama. It draws a distinct comparison against Clinton, not so much on policy, but rather on characteristics such as integrity, inspiration, and moral courage. You can see a high quality version of this video here.

Leadership is a powerful thing. Leadership certainly isn’t about policy positions or having had a requisite number of years of experience in office. Leadership transcends those elements. Can leaders be made? History says probably not as often as they are born. Senator Obama already demonstrates leadership qualities in droves.

If you’ve paid any attention to exit polls to date, you will have noticed that people from all walks of life, race and age have voted for Senator Obama. And in many documented cases, even Republicans have stated that they will vote for Obama. Race is no longer a factor, nor should it be. Neither should gender be for that matter. Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe wrote a wonderful piece entitled “The irrelevance of Obama’s color“, and points out that the sooner we abandon racial labels, the sooner they will be irrelevant. I still find it troubling that the color of one’s skin is what garners the label. After all, if Obama is labeled black, shouldn’t he also be labeled white?

I feel compelled to add this item into the article after recently watching Michelle Obama, Senator Obama’s wife, interviewed by Larry King on CNN. I found her to be classy, smart and genuine, and the interview is worth watching.

I’ve donated for the first time ever to a political campaign, and I will do so again before the primary season is over. I also hope to be able to contribute to the Obama campaign when he runs as the DNC nominee. For once, I’m not voting for the lesser of two evils or because I don’t like the other candidate or just to satisfy a civic duty. Perhaps Senator Obama’s candidacy is the catalyst for individuals to become politicians with integrity.

I encourage you to take a further look at Senator Obama’s platform and ask yourself if it isn’t worth it to our intertwined futures to seriously consider his candidacy. I’ll end with one of his catch phrases, Yes, we can!