It's just that my bullshit meter doesn't go off as often with Obama.

[Writer]

Politicians, just like salesmen, advertisers, or anyone else trying to sell you something, aren't dealing in 100% truth. Why? Because they're trying to make a case for why their deal is the best deal. We tend to complain about the selling game constantly. Seriously - if we don't like salesmen, then we should simply get rid of any system that entails public choice. Otherwise, it's the reality we have to deal with.

Obama's a politician, but I trust him more than most.

I wish I could put my finger on it, but when he speaks, I don't get the feeling that he's trying to finesse me. When he says he's pissed about something, I believe there's a possibility that he's actually pissed. He seems to care more about being effective than having his ego proved correct. You can accuse me of being naive. Okay, go ahead. But it's just that my bullshit meter doesn't go off as often with Obama than even, say, Nancy Pelosi. Or any of the GOP.

Obama is a sober pragmatist. You're not going to see him put on a wig and dance for you just to make you smile, or make dogs jump through hoops to help you get through the day. If there's anything I suspect he DOESN'T want to do, I think blowing sunshine up our asses is one of them.

If we're in for the long haul during the Great Recession, and we are, he'll tell you that.

If he's not going to be able to accomplish a campaign promise, for the most part, he'll tell you that.

He doesn't care about solidifying his presidency. He said at the beginning of his presidency that if he doesn't fix the economy, there'd be a new president in 2012.

We can hammer away at the abstractions of politics - at the rhetorical games between the Dems and the GOP - analyzing our daily politics like the longest football game in our nation's history, but Obama isn't going to care. Politics are not as important to him as governance. And THAT is why he's in office. He's not after building a legacy a la Bill Clinton, but trying to fix problems.

And that IS something different about Obama versus other politicians. And that's why I tend to trust him more than other people in government.