At first when I heard Obama's speech after the win in the Iowa primary, I dismissed it as being insubstantial. (a criticism Obama has since sought to dispel.) Then I realized that in fact the idealism, the rhetoric, and the slogans that Obama employs are perhaps more deeply significant and profound than any policy and plan he could offer. The Obama victory is nothing short of a shift in the American zeitgeist. He is not a reflection of America (post-modern, cynical, suspicious), but represents a transformation of it. A step forward but also a step back, to the beacon on a hill imagery he referenced in his speech last night. There is something both progressive and nostalgic about him. In the grandiosity and idealism of his rhetoric. That he has been able to mobilize Americans behind that rhetoric, that message, is incredible, and is a change that I believe will significantly alter how our country functions, as well as how it is perceived. I have never before felt patriotic. I do today.