I think it is also a primary reason why he's deemed unelectable – we have very specific notions of what a president should look like, shallow as it is. Neither Paul nor Kucinich had a prayer.

Look, I know that Paul's supporters are strong and that he embodies the individualism you're hoping for, but individualism doesn't get you elected ever. And if the trash talk is true, the wave of Obama optimism will also suffer once Hillary opens up a can of Superdelegates.

It certainly feels like business as usual. I want to be wrong. I want to be laughed at and scorned for not believing in the better nature of the American political machine… but in every load of cynicism is a corn kernel of truth.

Pay your money, cast your vote, take your choice. And hope the electronic voting machine will actually count it.

My wife, kid and I went 'cause we (well, my wife and I, anyway) thought it would be fun, interesting, and maybe take us back to our days at Cal. At the same time, though, I was guarded: arms crossed, an attitude of “show me” simmering.

The last 8 years have left me very cynical of politics.

After yawning through a 4-song-set by Bright Eyes, we had to wait a couple of hours before Obama came to the stage.

When he did, the crowd erupted, causing me to roll my eyes and my baby to cry. After some “Cornhusker!” and “Go Red!” pandering, he got to the meat of his speech.

The second half surprised me, slowly but surely, my crossed arms fell, my smug face softened, and eventually I found myself applauding and smiling. He spoke of hope, he spoke of change, he spoke of attitude. It totally worked for me, as opposed to the first half of the speech, which did little. In that half, he spoke of all of the things he was going to do about the war, about health care, about… whatever. It didn't matter, 'cause I didn't believe him. Whatever he thinks he's going to do, my sarcastic response was, “good luck with that.”

I know this whole little post has been off-topic, but I hadn't seen the Will.I.Am piece until now. It fixed the first half of Obama's speech for me. Perhaps we can.

Idealism. Optimisim. Hope. Hey guys, it's nice to have you back. I hope you stick around for awhile.

It is, apparently, real.