As usual, the MSM and just about everyone else has it wrong. "Change" has been the hot new theme since the Iowa caucuses. The media, the pundits, and candidates) have been jumping on the "change" message due to Obama's (and Huckabee's) success in IA. It's gotten so cliched that Willard Mitt Romney uses it without irony at this point. Same with Giuliani and McCain. It's comical, truly.
However, I don't think the core of his message is about change. What
people are really latching onto are two things:
- Most importantly, hope. I think people look at Barack Obama and see what's best about America: the opportunity to be whatever you want to be, no matter who you are or where you started. They see the hope that America can bring to anyone - an extremely appealing thing at a time where two-thrids of the nation believes that the country is on the wrong track. People look at Obama and they see a country where an African-American guy with a Muslim name can be president, not a country that tortures prisoners or spies on their own citizens or completely neglects a major city that's been wiped out by flooding. Obama makes us feel like the promise of America is real again.
- To a lesser extent, this is the guy who is the real uniter, not a divider. The GOP candidates are relentlessly divisive in their rhetoric. Edwards' campaign is based on "two Americas." Hillary is more of the same Clinton vs. Bush, blue vs. red. Barack is the candidate who talks like he wants to be president of America, not the president of the blue states or red states. This kind of dovetails with the idea above about restoring the promise of America.
Whether or not you believe that Barack is the guy who can unite and bring hope back to America, there are a lot of people who believe it, and that is the real key to his success, not "change."
Change is a byproduct of what Obama seeks to do. It's a shame that we've gotten to the point in this nation where inspiring people to re-believe in America translates into change, but this is where we are right now. Is it any wonder that voters are flocking to him and his message?