[gruseom]

No. Not just in style. A day after inauguration he has already issued substantive decisions that are in keeping with his rhetoric (not to mention a total repudiation of the un-American nightmare the country can hopefully now move beyond).

Besides, Obama's style goes far beyond what politicians who are merely posing are capable of. It indicates a cast of mind and is not so easy to fake. Compare it to Clinton who was obviously faking, but who did it so well that people liked him.

I don't expect that Obama can or will fix everything. But I stand by what I said: he thinks like I do. On nearly every topic in his speech yesterday, he said what I hoped he would say. I never imagined such a thing could happen.

Edit: by the way, though your first proposed test is pretty vague, your second -- a detailed accounting of spending -- is one that I feel pretty confident about. I'd be very surprised if that didn't happen, and happen in a way that is clearly new. (Especially since Obama already championed it as a senator.)

Edit 2: people come up with all sorts of straw men. You'd have to be an idiot to think that Obama is going to usher in a kingdom of light, or do anything that goes against human nature. What we're talking about here is incremental improvement. That happens to matter. If you disagree, I give you the past 8 years.

[Sam_Odio]

> I don't expect that Obama can or will fix everything. But I stand by what I said: he thinks like I do. On nearly every topic in his speech yesterday, he said what I hoped he would say. I never imagined such a thing could happen.

Lucky you. Not all of us are so fortunate.

[gruseom]

Heh. It did occur to me that it is luck, or at least the law of averages (I've gone a long time without seeing anyone in office I could admire). Be patient, I guess, and your turn will come :)