It wasn't long ago that the conventional wisdom on presidential politics had it that Democrats must follow the following rules when choosing nominees: Governor beats Senator.  Southerner beats Northerner.  Rural beats Urban.  America just elected a Democratic Northern Urban Senator.  Oh, yeah, and he's black has a foreign sounding name.  Hmmm...

This means one of three things: 1) the rules were bullshit, 2) the rules have changed, or 3) if you're going to violate the rules, make sure you add racial and ethnic handicaps to the mix.  Option 3 seems...well...silly.  I'm equally happy with either option 1 or 2, but I happen to believe it's 2.

So, to recap: we just elected a black. Democratic. Northern. Urban. Senator.  For President.  I'd say change has already begun.