O vs McC

Obama. McCain. Palin (snort of laughter). Biden (frown while considering why that sounds familiar).
These are the major players, who, on Tuesday will don their masks, step through the crowd, and wrestle for the title of... just kidding. But that would be an interesting publicity stunt.
Even for those who are not American, like myself, Tuesday marks a historic day. Thus far, the race between Obama and McCain has been world news almost every single day, everyone has an opinion to offer about each candidate, their running mate, and their extended families.
The US is arguably the most powerful country in the world (as much as everyone hates to admit) and whoever becomes their leader next has a larger burden to shoulder than just responsibility for their own country. With the world economy slowly spiraling down the drain, the situation in the Middle East only worsening, and natural disasters and conflicts like the Congo springing up everywhere, the world needs someone who can not only lead a powerhouse nation, but set a respectable example.
Many people seem to think that the role of the next President will be to clean up after Bush - restart the economy, work on the running deficit, pull out of the Middle East, and so on. In my opinion, however, the next President has that, and a much bigger job to do. Bush has been ridiculed for nearly the past decade - while running the most powerful country, he was also the running joke of politics - and it's time for someone who can fully represent their country to take office. Both candidates are smart, both have viable plans, but I think it's time for a Democrat to take office. The Republican party has some cleaning up to do - they put Bush in office for eight years, after all.
I don't know if I'd be arguing the same thing if Obama was not the Democrat candidate, because although his platform is refreshing and sensible, it's his presence that mainly concerns me, and is the most attractive thing about him for the majority of his supporters.
Obama is compared to Kennedy for good reason; both Presidents were over-poweringly charasmatic and both had phenomenal speechwriters. When the next President talks, their speech can't end up as the butt of a joke, because although it was what the President does that determines their worth, it is what the President says that causes them to be remembered, and beloved, by the people. And are not the people the most important part of the democratic election process?
Obama obviously knows this, let's hope this knowledge will pay off with a certain oval office.
I close with a line from one of his early speeches:
"This is not a red America, this is not a blue America, this is a united America."
Chilling, yes? That is a President speaking.