America is looking for a leader who inspires us, someone who can rebuild our trust in government and our good name worldwide. Barack Obama is drawing both young and old out of the woodwork and into the Primary election. Progressives see a path to change and are poised to invigorate politics in ways we haven't seen since the 1960s. But can we sustain the current "Barack the Vote" progress and keep the attention of our youth when pitted against the likes of pop culture movie stars and idols that dominate our news? Will the "Yes We Can" movement last long enough to carry us through the elections next fall?

This year there is more at stake than just the U.S. presidency. We have a potentially historic opportunity to take back the Senate and fire all the Bush-policy rubber-stamping obstructionists in Congress. If Democrats, Independents & progressives want to win the 2008 presidency and, more importantly, achieve a landslide takeover of Congress, Democrats need a candidate who doesn't have cultural/religious/ideologi cal baggage the GOP can use to rouse their conservative religious base. Both Clinton and Obama have issues the GOP will exploit. Why is it that the fake-morality minority continually out-votes progressives? Because fear and hate are greater motivators than desire for positive change. The GOP is well aware of that dynamic and uses the fear of gays and anger about legal abortions to motivate their conservative fundamentalist base. Meanwhile, the left rarely uses its majority political clout to ensure the country is run the way we want it to be run.