Now that Barack has taken Iowa, I find myself thinking more than ever about the role of the President and what makes a candidate best qualified for that role. I’m sure it sounds naïve, but I love that Barack seems genuinely interested in changing how young people view politics—to make it seem like a more noble and effective way to improve society. I recognize that he’s inexperienced, but I’m not sure that’s entirely bad. I think America is dying for a President who inspires people and sets lofty goals for the country, and I don’t think that requires decades in the Senate. Personally, I’m dying for a President who is intelligent enough to write a few bestselling books BEFORE becoming President, but still humble enough to admit when he needs help making a decision. I don’t expect the President to be both an expert military strategist and a great accountant and an astute healthcare reformer and an economics and immigration scholar. I just expect the President to be a great visionary, to know what he or she does well, and to hire a brilliant staff that will help complement his or her strengths and weaknesses.

A friend of mine told me recently that he plans to vote for Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary in his state. Like a lot of liberal democrats, I agree with Kucinich’s views on just about everything, but I assume voting for him will have very little impact on which contender makes it to the main event. Of course, I hate that most voters support the most electable candidate they can tolerate rather than voting for the one who they agree with the most. Yet, I feel that voting for Obama provides the best of both worlds. I think Obama could definitely surprise people who overestimate the number of racists who won’t elect a black candidate. I also think he could surprise a lot of people who assume there’s no such thing as a candidate who doesn’t base all his decisions on focus group research and lobbyist demands. Of course, I won’t really make up my mind until the Illinois primary rolls around. But, in the mean time, it’s fun to listen to Barack speak in that crazy southern preacher voice about his humble beginnings and his dreams for the future. If even just a small part of that is really him, it’s still pretty damn exciting.