I'm deeply touched that my words resonate with you.

Thank you.

And lord knows, there's a tremendous amount of healing to be done across this tiny, fragile globe of ours.

Barack Obama is a human being, of course, but he's an expansive human being, containing multitudes.

He's a healer.

You read his book (Audacity of Hope, I've not read the other) and it's impossible not to be struck by just how goddamned empathetic the man is. He *wants* to understand his opponents and adversaries, and not simply to exploit weaknesses. He's genuinely concerned in consensus-building. Not for its own sake, but because he recognizes that, in the final analysis, we sink or swim together.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

I think he apologized to Nancy Reagan not out of some kind of external pressure, but because he recognized that gratuitous digs, however innocuous, are simply not productive; why needlessly antagonize another human being just to tickle one's own funny-bone? How is that productive?

Again, I'm not trying to turn this man into some kind of idol or smother him with mindless adulation, but I've been watching him (as we all have) for nearly two years now, and, while my relationship with him has been complex and fraught, I remain convinced that he has within him the potential for true greatness, so much so that I've gotten ahead of myself already and fantasized about how virtuosic he might be in a second term.

Ok, let's be more measured now; what are Obama's potential tragic flaws?

I can think of two off hand: 1) Ego; 2) Opportunism.

So far, it seems to me he's been harnessing these to specific ends and I've seen very little evidence of him indulging either for the sake of appetite.

But let's think about this so as not to be blindsided...what in Obama's character/nature should we be keeping close watch over as potential pitfalls?

What are his vices?

Nothing, of course.

I think the intellectually honest argument is the socialization of industries stunts (or can stunt) economic growth. Others argue (implausibly, in my view) that somehow government bureaucracies are inherently less efficient or productive than corporate ones.

But I'm not an economist.

Then again, neither are the vast majority of those who yap about how bad socialism is.

Ideologically, I'm partial to collectivism and to what smug fuckheads refer to as "the nanny state" (I don't like to see my fellow human beings suffer when collective action might help them, I'm kind of faggy that way), but I'd venture to say that there are honest economic arguments why (at the very least) socialism should be employed with caution.

I sure would love to hear Gov. Palin and Joe the Plumber confab about this.

In fact, I'd pay good money to see an event in which the two of them agree to discuss the intricacies of the matter for, say, two hours under the watch of a strict moderator whose job it is to keep them from digressing.

Good, good money.

It's so nice to see how relaxed Barack is. He'd never have referred to himself as a mutt before, now he can.

When he said that, as well as the Nancy Reagan thing, I instinctively gasped a little but then remembered: HE WON, HE CAN SAY WHATEVER HE WANTS!!!

It made me so happy to see the fruits of that victory manifest in such a trivial way.

The guy can be himself. More so than we've grown accustomed to, that is.

It's kind of like when they blew up the World Trade Center. It took me months to actually realize what had happened because I had to appreciate the towers' absence from thousands of vantage points throughout the city. I'd be caught unawares as I was in a new part of town and suddenly noticed the Absence from yet another vantage point and was forced to feel the loss yet again.

Same with Obama, I think. I'll have to get used to his victory from many, many perspectives before it really sinks in.

The stuff on the executive orders is another example; so easy, *poof*, just like that. The power of a sane president to do sane, responsible things.

Go on, Barack!

As to the conservatives? They're only worth recognition insofar as they have intellectually honest things to say. (Same goes for anyone with a potential impact on public life, of course, but it's especially true for these clowns.)

They've been bullying, taunting and ridiculing good people for decades, now. It's about time we left them to wallow in their own mire of misanthropy.

They have zero to offer and I pity them, having to live with themselves and all those demons.

Time for the rest of us to slough them off.

There's absolutely zero reason to respond to certain posters. Treat them as nonpersons and they'll move along.

For the love of all things holy, why would anyone, on this, of all days, allow themselves to be drawn into the mire?

WWOD?

Let's follow Obama's lead by staying focussed above, not below. Honest, spirited exchange is noble, productive and can cement interpersonal bonds.

Letting the yahoos undermine all our work is beneath us.

It's not about Obama, it's about us!

It's about all of us wanting to rise above; Obama personified that, but it's not his job alone.

It's given to all of us. That's what he means by personal responsibility.

It's having the discipline to ignore pettiness rather than gratifying petty egos with petty responses.

Let's all just stop the madness and see if we can't summon and maintain some semblance of nobility; no less is required of us if we're to save this rock.

A friendly admonition.

There's a fabulous documentary "The Weather Underground."

One of my favorite films because it's extremely honest, nuanced, passionate and conveys the urgency of the times.

It's basically the surviving members (Ayers and Dorn included) reflecting on their experiences twenty years later.

Can't recommend it highly enough.