Over the last several months I've been asking people the following question:  "Who, in relatively recent times, have been the greatest Presidents?"  I've asked a lot of different people with a variety of different views, but by far the most frequently named were Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.  The consistency with which these three were named is striking.  The obvious question is "What do these three have in common?"  It's clearly not their politics - Reagan is as different from the other two as night and day.  It's not their accomplishments - Kennedy was President for less than three years, which was too short to actually accomplish very much.  Johnson actually accomplished most of what Kennedy started, and no one named him for the list.  I think the quality they all had in common can be summed up in one word: charisma.  Throughout history, charismatic leaders have had a special place.  They're transformative.  Whatever you might think of their politics, these three men transformed the way Americans thought of themselves and their country at a time when Americans had serious doubts about our ability to shape our lives and our future.

There is as saying that, I believe, is traced to Buddhism:  "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."  I think the same is true of politics:  "When the country is ready, the leader will appear."  There is no doubt that Barack Obama is a charismatic figure with the potential to be transformative.  Whether the transformation actually happens remains to be seen.  The forces of the status quo are formidable indeed and are already lining up to oppose him.

The nature of the transformation is clearly a rejection of the politics of division.  More than that, though, I think it is that the nature of 21st century problems are such that they cannot be solved by a laissez-faire approach of each person working in his own self-interest.  They will require a shared commitment, a shared purpose and a shared sacrifice.

If we really believe that it's time to put the smallness of our politics behind us, we must walk the walk.  To those who have disagreed, whether Republicans, Democrats, independents, PUMAs or whatever, we must extend a hand and ask them to join us in moving forward.  Those who refuse will need to be dragged kicking and screaming, because the future calls us all.  The operative word in "Yes we can" is "we".

If you expect change to be sudden or dramatic, you're going to be disappointed.  Tomorrow will look pretty much like yesterday.  Real change is slow and hard.  But today is the first day of the future so today is where we must begin.

Let us begin together.