Good to see you too!  I had a fit at my laptop this morning while eating breakfast.  Not my best work but I had to get it off my chest.  Hard to be thoughtful when you have a five year old yelling at you :)

Hope you are well.

It was written in a foggy morning haze.

You're welcome!  Glad I could do that.  I want to be excited, I want to remember that Obama is nothing like McSame and he never will be.

Thank you for posting this. I've felt for a very long time that the idea that "Obama is an unknown" is way past its due date. Anyone who wants to know more about him need only consult the Google for loads of articles written about him. I've been struck by how remarkably consistent the man is, and has been, since his post-Harvard emergence on the Chicago scene. Seems to me he's a WYSIWYG kind of guy.
(For example, read the Chicago Reader profile, "What makes Obama run? Lawyer, teacher, philanthropist and author Barack Obama doesn't need another career. But he's entering politics to get back to his true passion--community organization" written in Dec. 1995, when Obama decided to run for State Senate.   http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/st ories/archive/barackobama/

Anyway, since we're sharing, here's my own list of quoted insights, culled from various articles written about Obama over the years:

"He didn't get to be president of Harvard Law Review because he was first in his class. He got it because people on the other side believed he would give them a fair shake."
-- Richard Epstein, a colleague at the University of Chicago Law School

"The law review was a powder keg. That it didn't explode when we were there--that it ran professionally, despite all the tensions--was not a coincidence. It says something about Barack, and the kind of president he'd be."
-- former Harvard Law Review colleague, Julius Genachowski

"When he spoke, everyone got quiet and listened, and it was very unusual for that kind of hush to fall. He was a little bit above the conversation. He had a synthetic mind and a capacity to summarize what people said so that they would come out feeling like, Yeah, I was fairly treated."
-- Martha Minow, Harvard Law Professor

"He genuinely cared what conservatives had to say and what they thought. He also injected a dose of humility into a pathologically self-serious environment."
--  Brad Berenson, former Law Review colleague and former associate White House counsel to George W. Bush

"He was a little off-putting at first -- that whole Harvard thing. But the bottom line is pretty much everybody I know had a high opinion of him, Republican or Democrat. In this state it's hard for anyone to get along, and even though he was very liberal, he was able to pass a hell of a lot of bills."
-- Rich Miller, veteran observer of Illinois politics

"He is one of the most articulate people I have ever met, but he doesn't use his gift with language to promote himself. He uses it to clarify the difficult job before him and before all of us. He's not a promoter; from the very beginning, he always makes it clear what his difficulties are. His honesty is refreshing. He is among the most hard-nosed board members in wanting to see results. He wants to see our grants make change happen--not just pay salaries."
--Jean Rudd, executive director of the Woods Fund

"What I liked about Barack immediately is that he brought a certain level of sophistication and intelligence to community work. He had a reasonable, focused approach that I hadn't seen much of. A lot of organizers you meet these days are these self-anointed leaders with this strange, way-out approach and unrealistic, eccentric way of pursuing things from the very beginning. Not Barack. He's not about calling attention to himself. He's concerned with the work. It's as if it's his mission in life, his calling, to work for social justice. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm one of the most cynical people you want to see, always looking for somebody's angle or personal interest. I've lived in Chicago all my life. I've known some of the most ruthless and biggest bullshitters out there, but I see nothing but integrity in this guy."
 -- Johnnie Owens, Developing Communities Project

"It was the rigor of the interrogation that I was subjected to. He really pushed me. Barack is incredibly empirical and non-ideological. He's very aware of the tectonic plate shifts in the global order - the rise of China, the resurgence of Russia, the loss of influence by the US -- and how those affect your ability to get what you want, on anything from global warming to getting out of Iraq to stopping genocide.
"He's a sponge. He pushes so hard on policy ideas that fifteen minutes after you've started talking, he's sent you back to the drawing board. He doesn't get weighted down by the limits of American power, but he sees you have to grasp those limits in order to transcend them."
 - Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Harvard University Professor, Samantha Power

"The typical politician pushes himself on people to get them to pay attention. Obama is quieter. He doesn't push -- he has a laid-back feel that pulls you in. That is so rare."
-- Frank Luntz, Republican campaign strategist

"When we started this race, Barack told us that he wanted the campaign to be a vehicle for involving people and giving them a stake in the kind of organizing he believed in. He is still the same guy who came to Chicago as a community organizer twenty-three years ago. The idea that we can organize together and improve our country -- I mean, he really believes that."  
-- David Axelrod, Chief campaign strategist

"I can't repeat what most ACORN members think and say about politicians. But Barack has proven himself among our members. He is committed to organizing, to building a democracy. Above all else, he is a good listener, and we accept and respect him as a kindred spirit, a fellow organizer."
-- Madeline Talbott, ACORN community organization

"When others stood back, Senator Obama helped lead the fight in the Senate against the Administration's efforts in the Fall of 2006 to strip the courts of jurisdiction, and when we were walking the halls of the Capitol trying to win over enough Senators to beat back the Administration's bill, Senator Obama made his key staffers and even his offices available to help us."
"Senator Obama worked with us to count the votes, and he personally lobbied colleagues who worried about the political ramifications of voting to preserve habeas corpus for the men held at Guantanamo. He has understood that our strength as a nation stems from our commitment to our core values, and that we are strong enough to protect both our security and those values. Senator Obama demonstrated real leadership then and since, continuing to raise Guantanamo and habeas corpus in his speeches and in the debates."
-- 86 Lawyers for Guantanamo Detainees

"My comment is not meant to be unkind to mainstream Democrats, but it seems to me that Barack is studying issues that are very important for the country and for the world."
--  Sen. Dick Lugar, Republican from Indiana

"I have utter confidence -- and I have been in many negotiations -- in Barack Obama's ability to be a very, very tough negotiator."
--  Former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake

"As a woman, an activist and a Jew, I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Barack Obama over the last decade. He is a "once in a lifetime" leader. His genuine desire to engage, listen and roll up his own sleeves to find solutions accounts for his unique ability to inspire others."
-- Nancy Kreiter, Winnetka, IL  

"I thought, This guy is so unusual, so charismatic, so interesting, so mature; his talents are such that there's no ceiling to what he could achieve--and that included becoming president of the United States. It wasn't something I ever said to him, because it seemed like a crazy thing. But I talked to my wife about it. He's the only student about whom I've ever had that thought."
-- Harvard Law Professor and Constitutional scholar, Lawrence Tribe

"When we endorsed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination Jan. 27, we said we had formed our opinions of him during 12 years of scrutiny. We concluded that the professional judgment and personal decency with which he has managed himself and his ambition distinguish him."
-- Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune

They're going!  Gary started back to teaching at Cerritos full time this week, so the last couple of weeks have been less campaign related but that should change again.

Thank you!  We haven't even sent out our thank you letters, it's just been so busy and when I get home at night after work, I just want to snuggle with my five year old.  I've got to get off my butt!