Obama!

One of the nice things about being unemployed is that you can attend events that would otherwise be impossible.

The Potomac Primaries (Maryland, Virginia, and DC) are tomorrow, so a lot of the candidates and candidates' families have been in and around town campaigning. I went this morning to see Barack Obama speak at the University of Maryland and I can see now why so many young people have gravitated to him.

It was a good day-long ordeal -- driving 20 minutes to the Metro station, riding the Metro for an hour, waiting in line for another hour, and then doing it all again on the way back -- but it was definitely worth it. I've never been to a Hillary Clinton rally (I went to a Bill Clinton rally in Austin in 1992), but I'm guessing that Obama has the ability to get the crowd fired up in a way that she lacks.

Policy-wise, Obama and Hillary are very similar (which makes sense, since they're both from the same party). However, I think Obama appeals to the idealism and excitement that defines the Democratic Party (and the same aspects that Bill Clinton invoked in '92 and '96, and that Gore and Kerry failed to capitalize on in successive election cycles).

Voters tend to support candidates that have attractive and magnetic personalities - not necessarily those that have the best policy ideas and/or experience.

It isn't always the most qualified person who gets the job. It's the person who does the best in the interview.
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OK, enough politics for now. After I attend the Hillary rally, this post will either be completely refuted or deleted ;)

Oh, and it's still weird that my parents come home around 4 now. They never did that when I was growing up.