When did you "know" Obama would win?

[sofa king]

16. I saw a video of him speechifying ca. 2004.

When he was still a state senator, and as a legislative analyst I made sure to keep checking in on him regularly after that, because even back then he was unusually good at spelling out problems and offering solutions, which nobody else was doing very well back then.

In 2005, I remember telling a room full of my coworkers to keep an eye on that fellow, because he was something special. That was a fun day, with me the burned-out has-been white guy trying to convince a mailroom full of cynical black Washington, DC residents that a 3-forward had a decent shot at the White House. I hope they all remember that day, too.

What made Barack Obama so special back then was that when everyone was chasing the latest red herring Rove's gangsters dragged across the path, the young Senator was already talking about the results of the Bush Administration, and how to fix the damage they were doing.

In my own mind, President Obama's reelection has been almost a foregone conclusion since December, 2010. The first tax cut extension negotiations were when I realized that not only was this President excellent at what he did, he was a genius by comparison to other Presidents, even other Democratic Presidents, who seem to have a 40 IQ point edge over the other side.

Part of the way this President protects himself is by feigning vulnerability. This election might be in the bag in his own mind, but he is always careful to acknowledge the stakes and the difficulties ahead, allowing us the voters to shoulder some of the responsibility. He has also expanded his objectives toward flipping the House and holding on to the Senate in a grimly unbalanced year.

Now it is our responsibility. Remember to vote all-D, my friends!