Where is the Obama who inspired hope of real change?

Detroit Free Press - Two days after the national celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth and the day after a little-known Republican defeated a Democrat for the U.S. Senate seat that Ted Kennedy held for 47 years, I went searching for Barack Obama.

I searched for the Obama who wanted to institute real change in Washington, the one who tapped a fount of young energy, excitement and (millions of) dollars by being radical and challenging the status quo.

As Obama’s legacy is battered by a schizophrenic Democratic Party’s outdated traditions and poor decisions, as the political capital that history gave him is wasted and as his reputation lies tattered and torn every night by the other CNN (Conservative News Network), better known as Fox News, I cannot believe he isn’t wondering: Is there a better way?

Obama was on the verge of action that hasn’t happened in this country since 1792, when Thomas Jefferson and his supporters parted with the Federalists to forge a new way. Perhaps the Obama I’m searching for would help create a new party by marrying traditional Federalist beliefs in strong government with conservative beliefs in lower taxes and liberal beliefs in the rights of every American to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

There are those in Washington who consider the idea hopelessly naive, but out in America ... in Detroit, in Boston, in Dallas, in Santa Barbara, in Miami, in Denver, people want different, truly different. Read more.