I agree. Obama is a great speaker. He does have a great personal story. He's an impressive individual.
However, the way I see it, he will become one of the Senators I dislike the most. He will end up having a voting record that I highly disagree with. In my opinion, Illinois will have the worst Senatorial delegation.
I'll reserve judgment. He's better than Mosely-Braun, clearly.
I can remember a line from his DNC, "It doesn't take a village to raise a child; it takes a family to raise a child." Now, he said that with Hilary Clinton sitting there.
If he developes a more moderate voting record and distances himself from the Loony Left, he could be an exceptionally compelling national figure (and possibly a presidential contender).
Obama will not have a moderate record. Sorry. He might not be a vocal liberal like Ted Kennedy or Barbara Boxer because, as you stated, he might want to run for President. However, I still think he'll have a liberal voting record.
One of Obama's most interesting statements during the campaign had to do with his extremely left-leaning voting record. His response was that he was representing his district, and it's true that Hyde Park is one of the most liberal areas in Chicago. His lack of competition left unasked the question as to whether a US Sen. Obama would then have a voting record that reflects the broader views of the whole state. I hope that he does.
