In Barack Obama Democrats have put forth a man of strong religious faith who is comfortable connecting his spiritual life to his public role as a policymaker.
My parents shared not only an improbable love they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name Barack or blessed believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.
What if Barack Obama established a Presidential Advisory Committee that would meet once every couple of months bringing together the former presidents for a conference in order to seek their collective wisdom? There is a wealth of experience in former presidents that generally goes untapped.
See that's why Barack's running: to end the war in Iraq responsibly - to build an economy that lifts every family to make sure health care is available for every American - and to make sure that every child in this nation has a world-class education all the way from preschool to college.
The hoary joke in the literary world based on 'Dreams From My Father ' was that if things had worked out differently for Barack Obama he could have made it as a writer.
Barack Obama knows that to create an economy built to last we need to focus on middle-class families. Families who stay up on Sunday nights pacing the floor like my dad did while their children tucked in bed dream big dreams. Families who aren't sure what Monday morning will bring but who believe our nation's best days are still ahead.
It has been my honor to support and work with President Barack Obama a man who has brought courage and character to the presidency. President Obama's strength of character leads him to do the right thing even when it isn't the easy thing.
And I love that even in the toughest moments when we're all sweating it - when we're worried that the bill won't pass and it seems like all is lost - Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. Just like his grandmother he just keeps getting up and moving forward... with patience and wisdom and courage and grace.
That is who Barack Obama is - a person of admirable character - and that is who he has remained for me over these last four years. I have not agreed with his every decision but never once have I seen him break his cool lose his composure or abandon his insightful perspective - even during the most serious and/or absurd national disasters.
Few expected very much of Franklin Roosevelt on Inauguration Day in 1933. Like Barack Obama seventy-six years later he was succeeding a failed Republican president and Americans had voted for change. What that change might be Roosevelt never clearly said probably because he himself didn't know.