Barack Obama became a household name without much fanfare, but I got sick and tired of hearing how great he was one evening and decided to look up what he’d done to be so famous ‘ making the cover of Time Magazine, being hailed by Queen of Daytime TV Oprah as what could only be likened to a political messiah, etc. I’m kind of a cynical person, and figured that if Oprah was lauding his praises, something must be horribly wrong.

But after having looked at his record and thought for a while about the direction our world seems to be headed in, I’d throw Obama in the ring against any Clinton, Bush, Kerry or even Newt Gingrich any day, any place.

And here’s my explanation why. Obama has something that arguably no other political official possesses at this point: what appears to be an honest commitment to change, combined with an ability to connect with a variety of social, economic and cultural groups without seeming like a social butterfly or a political slime-ball.

During his time in office, I have heard no whiffs of political savvy scandal or cut-throat politics; instead, I have heard of a social reformer committed to fixing the nation’s growing gap between the rich and the poor, while attempting to recover and repair our relationships with the rest of the world. I also think that Obama’s message of unity, of attempting to pull a country together through common bonds instead of under a false attempt at ‘patriotism’ or ‘supporting our troops,’ has been the most relieving thing I’ve heard in a long time.

I think Hillary Clinton’s a great politician, a great stateswoman and a perfectly good candidate for the presidency. On the other hand, she has clearly played the game of politics, voted for resolutions which have clearly turned out to be terrible mistakes and then spoken out against the resolutions that she voted for. I just haven’t heard a reasonable explanation for those actions and wonder why one has never been forthcoming.

Now, it’s well within reason to say that it’s OK to make mistakes, and I’d agree with you. But when I’m presented with a choice between Clinton and Obama, I would be more comfortable choosing the candidate who, so far, has proved to have more integrity then anyone I’ve ever seen in politics.