You're misunderstanding why I brought Hitler up, Ron. I do not wish to suggest that Obama is a dangerous man, as Hitler was, and that was not my intention. I was simply using a wellknown example of how a man with great charisma can move people. Period. The same was true of Churchill, John Kennedy, Mussolini in his heyday, Napoleon, FDR, Caesar....what the heck...such a man can be very good or very bad for his country...or even somewhere in the fuzzy middle between those extremes.

The important thing is, some politicians have tremendous charisma, and Obama does, but only the people who like Obama will feel the glow inside or the "tingle" from that charisma. Period.

That's what I was saying to Doug. Doug chose to interpret it the way he chose to interpret it and so did you...and you both chose a different interpretation than I would.

Doug, you don't know yet if the fact that people are so emotionally moved by Obama is a bad thing or a good thing. If he turns out to be a good leader, it will be a good thing. If he turns out to be a bad leader, it won't. It's that simple.

I am not making value judgements one way or the other about people with great charisma, I'm simply talking about how it affects those who follow them.

Okay, Ron, so your opinion as to whether the majority of Germans enthusiastically supported Hitler in the late 30's and early part of WWII is different from mine. That's fine with me. I'm used to us having different opinions about a lot of things, and my reaction is a great big.....

*** shrug ***

I am not going to risk getting carpal tunnel syndrome by being tempted into arguing with you about it for the next 50 posts or the next 50 days. Think whatever you like about it. So will I.

Ebbie - "Obama actually stopped to think before he spoke, and in fact kept on thinking as he spoke"

Yes! That's what he does all right, and it's positively striking in its refreshing difference from what one usually hears politicians do. That's one of the reasons I like him. He's thoughtful rather than just knee-jerk reactive, which is about all one usually gets from politicians.