Here's my take on it. The U.S. is a young country, its citizens on the whole are not terribly politically sophisticated or savvy, and on top of that, it's perceived as the most powerful, most admired country on earth. That's a lot of pressure. I don't think most Americans know how to handle that. And so, when someone like Obama or Palin comes along, most people look at their star quality, which both of them are providing. Now, in my book, Obama clearly has a formidable intellect to back him up, whether or not his specific credentials for the job are impressive (and, of course, let us not forget that in the White House for the last eight years has been a guy of dim intellect, also with a not impressive resume, but, this being America, his family/political ties and money have taken him far). Obama is no dumbie. In fact, I would say that politically speaking, he's brilliant. I make fun of lawyers just like everybody else, but the reality is that many people in national government are attorneys and a few of them are actually good guys. As for Palin, she went to something like five different schools before she got a degree in journalism, and then worked as a sportscaster, of all things. And have you noticed that she isn't doing interviews? Why? Because the McCain people know that she can't answer difficult questions about her own background or the Republican party platform off the top of her head. She's not prepared, but I'm sure she's getting a cram course in right-wing spin whenever she's not out in public. It's one thing to effectively read a speech someone else wrote to a highly partisan group like the RNC, quite another to stand up to public scrutiny without the crutch of pre-digested words, adoring fans, and a teleprompter to keep you standing. And BTW, I loved JFK, even though I was too young to vote for him. He had much more than a pretty face and an impressive mouth. He certainly had his faults, but he's the last president I have ever gotten excited about, with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter, who unfortunately wasn't strong enough to fight the political forces who brought him down. Will I vote for Obama? Don't know. Depends on how close the race is by Election Day. There's also Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, or Dennis Kucinich as a write in. But McCain/Palin in the White House is just not acceptable to me.