et me preface this by stating that I'm a leftist Canadian, so my views are much more consistent with the Democratic party than with the Republicans in the first place. I didn't instantly fall under the Obama spell. In fact, during the primaries, I watched with a lot of interest, and I genuinely thought that either of the two Democratic contenders would make a fine president. If anything, I thought that Clinton would be more suited to overcoming the dirty tactics that are often used by the Republican party in general elections. I was more of an interested observer at that point, without really being invested in either candidate. I didn't care who won, as long as Bush was out. And although I can't say that I supported McCain, I thought that the US could do much worse than have him win the election. I had admired him in the past, before his asshattery became apparent during the campaign.
So, what do I like about Obama? And why do I think he's attractive to others, as well?
-as far as Democrats go, he is fairly left-leaning, which of course is a relative term as far as US politics vs the rest of the world goes, so, in that way, he matches well with my outlook.
-politics are very cyclical; in the past 50 years, the only time any party in the US has been in power for three consecutive terms is Reagan-Reagan-Bush Sr. So, even without Bush Jr being a divisive figure who turned out to have some of the worst polling numbers in history in his second term, it's fairly safe to say that almost any Democrat probably could have beat almost any Republican in this election. Americans were burned out with Republican rule, and needed a change. Obama became a symbol of that change.
On a more personal level, I started learning a lot more about him after the primaries. I read both his books, and paid more attention to him in the media. Some of my conclusions were:
-his humble upbringing is a lot more relatable to the average person than most of the elites who run for higher office
-he is a very intelligent and thoughtful person, and has made having an intellect an admirable quality once again. I believe that he will take a deliberate and analytical approach to problem solving, as opposed to the seemingly myopic view that the Bush administration took. Obama says that he welcomes dissent and opposing views, and this helps in considering all sides of a problem, and its potential solutions. Contrast this with the Bushies who were so entrenched in group-think that they could see no other viewpoint than their own, and this is very refreshing.
-his background is very well suited to the position. The McCain campaign co-opted the term "community organizer" during the campaign and attempted to mock it and make it into something laughable, but the truth of the matter is, that these people know how to get things done. In the trenches, effective community organizers work from a bottom-up perspective, they empower people, they're great listeners, they negotiate, and they get a lot done with very few resources available to them. This is evident in the way he built his campaign and support.
-in reading his books, I've come to the conclusion that I've never seen a politician before whose worldview matches my own so well. Honestly, his books make him seem much more left than he showed during the campaign. This leads me to believe that either he has 1) grown and changed his views (unlikely); or 2) he's pragmatic and realized that he would have to appear more centrist to get elected and is willing to appear this way, thinking that he can do greater good by choosing his battles wisely once he's elected than he could by holding firmly to his leftist beliefs and not being elected at all. So far he does appear to be taking a more centrist approach to leading. It'll be interesting to see if that remains throughout his presidency, or if he shifts to the left as his term(s) goes on.
-I believe that he has a genuine empathy toward people, unlike any president that's been seen since perhaps Clinton, and before that, I can't even think of anyone. He wants to uplift people and their circumstances, that seems to be his main goal. Lets face it, one doesn't get into community organizing for the glory, or for the money, because there's little of either in that field.
-his race obviously plays into this, as well. It's an historic achievement, to be the first minority elected as president. I would imagine this makes many Americans proud and happy to be a part of something so significant.