Here are my thoughts. As it turns out they are in reverse order of likihood that it will happen; His supreme transformation would be to bring the country together again - no red and blue, just American. He would be a transformation in racial terms just by being in the WH, which, I believe, would make a much larger difference in racial attitudes if he did well in the office. I believe he will be able to transform the damaged image of this country and will restore honor to our name.

Here is one personal example - a female campaign canvasser was assaulted by a person whose house she went to in WI. He punched her in the face and pulled her hair.

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/10/19/local_news/doc48fa891c6397b889391842.txt

Obama called her personally to comfort and reassure her. That is leadership, compassion and one reason Barack is transformtional. He is a human being who cares deeply first and foremost.

What is it about Obama? He leads by example. He is the change he wants to see in the world, to paraphrase Gandhi. He has shown confidence and wisdom and has kept himself centered and focused. He's shown the way for the rest of us to do the same although I have to confess it's been hard for me to keep my cool at times.

I can't say I feel it coming together across the country, though. I live in a completely red state where there is no hope of seeing purple much less blue. I'm still very nervous.

I think Obama is transformational because he represents to us what we as a country could be and what we will reflect to the rest of the world if he is elected.

Valuers and preservers of our laws and constitution v. perpetrators of unjust wars, executive branch immunity, and domestic espionage.

Fair-minded, intelligent listeners v. stubborn, unblinking deniers.

Respecters and protectors of human rights across the world v. torturers refusing the-innocent-until-proven-guilty trials.

If Obama is elected, I hope we give education and science a chance to prosper us.

I hope we give economic and racial justice/equality a chance to prosper every American, especially ignored rural towns and inner-cities.

Here is what I hope, paraphrased from a recent song about Obama by MC Yogi:

Ladies and gentlemen, beautiful intelligent
friends of all ages, races and measurements
US citizens, worldwide residents
whatever your religion is or sexual preference

There's no separateness, there's one thing connecting us
that's the planet we inhabit plus all its different elements
that's the reason why we need a new President
someone who understands interconnectedness

And won't go to war based on false evidence
who's not addicted to oil and aggressiveness
who believes in global warming and will fight pollution
instead of shredding and abusing our constitution

Let's get involved and offer all our contributions
Vote for hope, join the movement of this revolution
A brighter day will come
A brighter day will come

Change comes when we believe
in a brighter day a better way to succeed
together we can make it better, you and me
together we can be safe, prosperous, and free
...

We gotta make it happen- time for some action
it don't matter if you're black, white, Asian, Latin
We gotta vote for hope and steer clear of fear
Regardless of the garbage they put in our ears

Talking heads on the radio, television
spinning the facts, treating us like we're little children
but even with the propaganda they can't stop us can they?
Because we know in our souls that we're gonna stand up

And let our voices be heard word to the people
let's make sure this election is fair and equal
no more illegal war, dying on a distant shore
that's the reason why Obama's who we're voting for

"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America, an Asian America, there is the United States of America."
-----------

Throughout the song, he splices quotes from Obama's 2004 DNC speech and Obama saying the words, "Safe, prosperous and free." It made me cry the first time I heard it- Obama reading our constitution: all people created equal, with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He then says that is God's greatest gift to us, the true genius of America.

Well, on that point I can't defend his merits because that will lead to argmentation for sure.

It's time for the man and the movement, you know? It can't be luck. God, can I say this? He's just the right person for this time. That is what I think needs to be explained by someone and I'd like your opinion, Thera.

Because it's not all about his race. And it's not all about his intellect- at least not in the sense of Adlai Stevenson "eggheadedness"- and A.S. was a good man. And it's not about his being a product of the American culture because so many are wont to say he absolutely isn't that! I don't think it's about his wonderful good looks, though that may be part of what bothers his opponent. (Hint: Palin seemed good looking and charming at the time she was picked. And to some the Maverick in charge seemed brilliant then.)

Maybe it's his tolerance of things we all ought to tolerate a lot more than we are able? You can't find much of THAT in the opposition and if this sounds like circular argument, notice how McBlame carps against doing something and then does it himself. OK, enough about him.

Maybe it's his forebearance. This guy has a lot of 'self' control! Isn't that the main reason I just plain preferred him to Hillary in the primaries? I think so. And I must say I've LIKED her a lot more since she's lost the need to grate and rasp at us.

And his considered judgement. You just know he's going to seek opinion from experts and use his smarts to review it, he's going to think before he acts.

For lack of better phrasing I want to say his heart is in the right place- but you know what? it sounds like hero worship. Yet I do think that. And maybe Michelle has a good deal to do with nurturing his heart and his good ideas. I like her a lot too. :)

We can have a lot of Hope now. Let's not forget that we can also be responsible.

Hard to pin down cause and effect at the start of Obama's campaign, because we have to start in Springfield, Illinois, or Hyde Park, Chicago, or Harvard.

But we can point to his awareness of opportunity, and his careful use of it, which imply exquisite judgement. He was offered a book contract after he took over the Law Review. He used the opportunity with deliberation and care, eventually yielding up a fine book. He chose an avocation that would both achieve results and give him opportunities to learn, when he went into community organizing.

He used opportunity when he took care to have an excellent speech at the convention. He was deliberate about developing a campaign organization (the community organizer!).

All this adds up to many people with a stake in his success. How does that percolate through the operation, the country, the media? His administration will have, aside from the hate of a small faction, the warm wishes and actual, on the ground, efforts of millions of people.

That's a transformation. It approaches a revolution.

It is so moving to read these comments. You're bringing tears to my eyes, people! I'm so glad I put this up as way for all of us to share ourselves and our experience of Obama and our hopes and dreams that he inspires us to speak aloud.

If you haven't read it, this essay by Alice Waters in The Guardian voices what some of you have referred to - a leader who loves us:

What our country desperately needs is a leader who loves us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/20/uselections2008.barackobama

John Nail refers to this. And thegirlfromoklahoma gives us the poem. But others seem to be moving in the same direction.

I can't help but think that Obama is like a good therapist. Who genuinely cares. And wants to empower the person to be him or her best self. But I've honestly never seen it in an American leader before. Not even JFK had this.

I appreciate the long explanation of Dr. Zee as well.

Please, weigh in here. Let's have more thoughts. This is so beautiful!

You asked for it TheraP...

First of all having studied typologies, he has some rare, innate, natural leadership skills that help him to launch such a successful, large-scale campaign, to choose such competent people to work with him and to be a reflection of his values and wisdom in running a campaign. He is able to sense a great deal about a person and this allows him to see how that person might serve or how he might serve that person.
He has reached a higher level of consciousness than most americans and he has learned the skill to be gracious and caring in how he engages others, accepting the responsbility of what it means to be better able to 'respond'.

When you reach a certain level of development you develop the real capacity to love everyone and to understand as Ken Wilber says' the human brain is incapable of being 100% wrong' and therefor everyone is bringing 'some' truth and perspective that has value.

He has learned to integrate perspectives, include paradoxes, instead of simply being polarized by them...(at least he has demonstrated this capacity even if it is not constant).

He sincerely desires to serve and I feel certain that he is fighting hard to become our president because he can truly see that he is the best person for the job at this time. I asked him to run as I am sure many of you did. And my sense is he said yes to becoming our president
not to serve himself... but because we needed him.

The first time I saw him and heard him speak on Cspan I saw all of these things about him and I literally thought 'I wish this man was our president'. I went to my computer and wrote to him to ask him to run. I mean when does something like that happen?? It never happened to me before. I don't want to get too over the top about this and much of this I generally keep to myself because I think my understanding might not be too helpful to the general electorate.

I have been very blessed in my life to have worked for Ken Wilber and sat with many, many spiritual teachers from around the world of a variety of persuasions and levels of devlopment.
One of the strongest things I can say is that Senator Obama has the capacity to transcend polarities... including democrat and republican. I am not talking about reaching across the aisle. I am talking about being able to hold the perspectives of all varieties within the polarity of 'liberal' and 'conservative'. This is very powerful because it will allow new solutions and truth to arise.

There is a point in our growth where we have learned enough that we just have to be present in the moment to know how to handle any given situation. The 'rules' and 'exceptions' are then only guidelines to apply. This frees one to make the most appropriate decision in the moment rather than sticking to a particular framework of belief.

Example, I was at a talk with a spiritual teacher and KW and a member of the audience said, 'how do I know when to serve, how to serve'.
The teacher replied 'you must be present in the moment to know'. The teacher continued 'for example in one moment it may be appropriate to give $1 to 100 men and in another it may be most appropriate to give $100 to one man. To know what to do requires the ability to be fully present in your heart, mind, body, and soul and to know your personal desires separate from what is best for all and to be able to put all of this together in your decision.

Senator Obama is not a messiah or super natural person but he is more evolved than many and this is where we are heading as human beings. And honestly, it is very natural for those who are farthest away from his level of development to find him threatening, confusing, and hard to understand or relate to. They are sincerely living according to belief structures that make sense to them and to many of them he is as foreign as an alien and they can't explain why that is so. This is why compassion, while still being vigilant, with those who are the most afraid and most angry is appropriate. For those in our country who are closer to Senator Obama's level of development of course we can relate to him, we are relieved by his awareness and flexibility, it is much easier and more natural for us to trust him.

And honestly just the possiblity of President Obama demonstrates to me that we can trust. We must be active, and vigilant but who could be more perfect to help our country at a time like this, than Senator Obama... and he's asking for the job. How perfect.

As he has said... he is very fortunate because here is a leader ready to serve and 'he has US' and we are very fortunate because 'we have HIM'.

We just have to find enough people and help them feel comfortable enough with him to vote for him in two weeks!!!

Transformational because able to transcend. Emerson would love him!

I see transformation of atmosphere. We have been told for the last 8 years (and certainly every day since 9/11) to "be afraid... be very afraid." Obama has never once used those words or intimated that we have anything to fear but fear itself.

This is weird because Barack Obama is a good deal younger than I am, but I feel when he speaks the same kind of comfort and everything-will-be-all-right security that my father gave me when I was a little girl.

His calm manner of speaking, his expressive and soft hands, his ability to express himself with great clarity and without previous preparation. Extemporaneous speaking is a gift!

Speaking of my father - my parents lived in Illinois until 2 years ago, and they kept me current on him well before he hit the presidential campaign trail. So I was already inspired and amazingly become more so each time I hear him speak.

My blood pressure drops about 20 points when I visualize an American with President Barack Obama.

Transformational...

For too many years, politicians have been following the same old formula: "here's what I will do for you."

Obama's formula: "here's what we will do together; here's how you can help yourself."

That is transformational. It takes us straight back to "we the people."

And it is very welcome.

TheraP, thanks for the thread. This is what happened to me. When I voted for Obama in the primary I had the strongest feeling that I had just embraced the future. It was so strong that I can still feel it when I focus on that place and time.

In the primary season I wanted Biden to win - I'm from Delaware first but Biden's honesty attracks me. I think it is fitting that Obama choose Biden as his running mate. When it came down to Edwards, Clinton and Obama, once again it was the sense of honesty that attracted me to Obama. Then I heard the I want change song - that was good but I also went to the speech that song came from. That was the speech from when he lost to Clinton in New Hampshire. I was blown away by it. He told me how I could use the positive energy of the past to ride into the future.

I think that Obama's life of blending and mending is what helps make him transformational. Dr Xee above used the words to describe Obama's MOO - openness, inclusion, consideration, communication and inspiration. I also believe the Bush years were the set up for Obama.

Jesus, David, you'd piss all over yourself just to keep things looking bleak. I mean, I find some of the adoration on this thread a little much, but all the evidence so far indicates Obama will be a better president than we've had lately. OK, maybe you lost the 1960s, but 40 years of self-indulgent despair is a little much.

May I express a more pedestrian wish?

I'd like to see him shatter the traditional mold of liberal / conservative by being a confounding mixture of the two. I think we see some of that in his economic outlook and his social perspective.

Well, he's transformational because he is Democratic candidate who is ahead in the polls at 2 weeks out and therefore, by judging from past elections, has the best chance of winning this election.

I think a lot of people imbue his candidacy and successful campaign as transformational because he is black. Umm ... not so much. If he had been campaigning in the primaries against a competent, well-heeled white man, instead of against a competent, well-heeled woman, he would not be sitting in the catbird seat right now. I'm sorry to say that, IMO, for a large-enough portion of the electorate, it came down to voting for a man vs voting for a woman; and color of skin was secondary to gender.

Overall, I don't expect much from him as President. I expect he'll be competent and up to the task. Anything beyond that will be good-tasting gravy.

Thanks.

mp