| "Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America." - Barack Obama With these words, spoken during the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in August, a star was born. It wasn't just Barack Obama's charisma and oratorical skills that won him adherents that evening, though. It was the fact that Obama himself represents the dichotomy of America. The son of a Kenyan immigrant and a Kansas farmgirl, Obama combined the heartland's steadfast belief in the core values of America with the immigrant's vision of and dreams for the future. In the process, he renewed the hopes of a cynical and politics-weary populace and re-instilled a sense of service, duty, and belonging to all Americans. By handily winning his Illinois Senate race in November, Obama has guaranteed that we will be able to draw on his inspiration for at least six years to come. "The other nominees alongside this gentleman are all very worthy, but this man in particular made the political cynic in me dare to dream and that's quite a hurculean feat. I see many bright things in store for his political future, and perhaps our own as a nation as a result; I feel, in short, that Obama is the Real Deal" - Scully |
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| Jon Stewart | John Kerry | Howard Dean | Gavin Newsom |