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Hope Comes to Town

Three men stood together on the stage at the Richmond Coliseum as if their individual political fates depended one upon the other. The man in the middle held the arms of the other two men aloft, as if declaring them both winners of something big.

The man in the middle was Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama , and flanking him was Virginia US Senate candidate Mark Warner and Virginia Governor and Obama's national campaign co-chair, Tim Kaine . But make no mistake; it was Obama's day.

Barack Obama, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine -- these men represent a new generation of politician, a stark contrast to the patrician John Warner , for example. In a sense, these three men can be seen as ideological brothers. They are young, smart and idealistic; they connect well with voters, and each is an adept politician.

And they are Democrats, which, given the party's spotty record during the past eight years, can be a slippery thing to define.

McCain and other Republicans brand Obama as the most liberal senator in Congress, but as a presidential candidate he is just left of center. The same can be said of both Warner and Kaine. But no one in attendance cared about any of that; they were here to celebrate a hope.

The Coliseum was filled to capacity. By my estimate there were at least 13,000 people there. The rally started with the usual preliminaries, the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem and a prayer.

The crowd was very diverse. Richmond's majority black population showed up in force. But there were people from every demographic present, including drag queens.

Finally, after a delay of about 45 minutes, Tim Kaine came blasting up the steps and ran across the stage. His first words were, "You are beautiful." The crowd ate it with a spoon.

He extolled Obama, saying we "are tired of mediocrity, Virginians love excellence." The word 'change' was prominent. In the past, I have found Kaine a mediocre and dispassionate speaker, but on this day he generated excitement.

Mark Warner came out next, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace everyone. Like Kaine, Warner has been a competent if sometimes unexciting speaker.

Not today.

He too talked of change and of Obama's capacity for leadership.

After exhausting the list of reasons to vote for Obama, Warner declared, "I'm also looking for work." His pitch was his record as Virginia's governor, "I have experience helping dig Virginia out of a fiscal ditch … What we did in Virginia we need to do in Washington."

He then stepped aside and introduced "the next president of the United States, Barack Obama." Thirteen thousand volts of pure human pandemonium rocked the building. The tone was set when Obama declared, "There's something I like about Virginia. Must be the people."

Insert rousing applause here.

"What we need is honest leadership, what we need is real change. What we need are policy ideas to move this country forward, and that's why I'm running for president of the United States," he declared, to loud and enthusiastic applause.

The theme of the speech was set early, "This campaign has to be about solving problems." And so it went. Obama laid out his policy prescriptions on education, taxes, health care, fixing Washington, the economy and creating jobs. He talked at length about "the challenges facing middle class families every day."

"The question isn't whether you were better off than you were four years ago. The question is are you better off than you were four weeks ago."

To anyone closely following his campaign, or who watched the three presidential debates, it was familiar territory. His opponent is "out of ideas, out of touch and running out of time."

It's a good line but by now a familiar one. He didn't linger long over foreign policy issues, choosing instead to bear down on his meat and potatoes issue, the economy.

Regrettably, Obama referenced the ubiquitous Joe the Plumber , but he managed to turn the encounter to his advantage.

"I had a nice conversation the other day with Joe the Plumber," he said. "All I want to do is give Joe a tax cut. John McCain … is fighting for Joe the Hedge Fund Manager . He's in cahoots with Joe the CEO ."

One of the most poignant moments in the entire speech was the now familiar story of his mother having to argue with insurance companies while lying in a hospital dying of cancer. It was a personal moment made more real and more powerful by the fact that it is a rare (some say too rare) window into his life. But these are moments people can connect with, it's a scenario people can relate to.

Obama's call for individual sacrifice seemed to be an acknowledgment of his growing lead in nationwide polls. Despite a cautionary note that there were still 13 days left in the campaign, his remarks on sacrifice were the words of a future President, not a candidate.

"The change we need won't come easy, it won't come quick," he cautioned.

He asked that everyone do their part -- parents must participate in their children's education by turning off the TV, and making sure their kids do their homework. The call was for change, unity, togetherness, sacrifice: "We are all in this together, now more than ever."

Change is a promise we hear every four years. More than anyone else, Obama has made change the rallying cry of his campaign. One can't blame Obama or McCain for striving for change, or for promising to be the one to deliver it. But, in this fell political season, there is a reason Congress recently had an approval rating under 10 percent.

Change can be frightening, for a lot of Americans it can seem threatening.

After hearing some 13,000 Richmonders cheering with one voice, united by a hope in one man, a man who promises to deliver real and substantive change, optimism might seem warranted.

Many left the rally jubilant, inspired and fired-up about the next 13 days and beyond. Hours after the rally two things happened that reminded me just how difficult it is to change anything, not to mention an entire country.

I received an email from a friend. He'd seen an Obama campaign sign that had been vandalized. Someone had altered the word "Change" by removing the 'c' and adding an 'm' to the end. The sign now read "hangem." So much for change.

And then, I was driving on Belvidere at rush hour. I was first behind the light, and traffic was very heavy. The drivers opposite, turning across the lane in front of me, began to stack up in the intersection.

Instead of sitting on a green light and not proceeding until cars ahead of them had cleared the intersection, they piled in, one behind another until no one could move. If you've lived in this town for even a short time, you've witnessed a similar scene.

Those with green lights sat dead in the water, while drivers who simply wouldn't wait blocked their path, seemingly unconcerned that they were screwing it up for everyone.

I sat through two green lights, moving not an inch. An inconsequential example perhaps, but it brought to light a discrepancy between high-minded words and human actions, between the promises made by politicians pre-election, and inconvenient reality which often puts the kibosh on hopes and dreams.

Sacrifice, change, unity -- these are admirable words for honorable concepts. They are promises made by politicians to we the people. Voters have to decide who to trust with their future.

We'll see if any one man can make people believe these promises are more than just words.