Why Obama

Andrew Sullivan links to a powerful testimonial to Obama from a long time colleague.

Among the best points:

This was a pretty amazing conversation, not only because of Obama's mastery of the legal details, but also because many prominent Democratic leaders had already blasted the Bush initiative as blatantly illegal. He did not want to take a public position until he had listened to, and explored, what might be said on the other side.

This is the Barack Obama I have known for nearly 15 years -- a careful and evenhanded analyst of law and policy, unusually attentive to multiple points of view.

The University of Chicago Law School is by far the most conservative of the great American law schools. It helped to provide the academic foundations for many positions of the Reagan administration.

But at the University of Chicago, Obama is liked and admired by both Republicans and Democrats. Some local Reagan enthusiasts are Obama supporters. Why? It doesn't hurt that he's a great guy, with a personal touch and a lot of warmth. It certainly helps that he is exceptionally able.

But niceness and ability are only part of the story. Obama has a genuinely independent mind, he's a terrific listener and he goes wherever reason takes him.

The thing that I find most impressive about Obama's rhetoric is the evident thought and intelligence behind it. He speaks well, but the gold is not in the throat but in the mind behind it.

Hillary has a good command of policy minutia - she is smart - but I don't see much vision behind it. When evil Hill-Billary attacks, expecially as in the recent racist bullshit she has been pulling, all I can see is a naked lust for power.

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