Obama is better-equipped to lead country through change it craves

(Via Philadelphia Inquirer.)

Still undecided?

If you’re a Pennsylvania Democrat and today dawned with you still struggling, it could mean one of several things:

You could be one of those terminally indecisive people, for whom even ordering at Applebee’s becomes an hour-long agony.

More likely, it means you’re an earnest citizen who feels how momentous this choice is - but not a person who can resolve it through identity politics, the tug of “first woman” or “first black.”

Perhaps you’re a substance maven whose study of wonky Web sites has taught you that, along the grand spectrum of political thought, the differences between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can be measured in microns.

Or, maybe, Barack and Hillary (and, after six weeks, we Pennsylvanians are on a first-name basis) have come to strike you as pushy houseguests who overstayed their welcome. Their bickering and bombarding ads have left you equally annoyed with each.

Whatever the root of your indecision, let me as a fellow citizen share the thought that decided my own mind. Today, I’m going to push the pad that lights up Barack Obama’s name. I’m going to do this though concerned he may be a little callow for the job; though put off by his self-righteous pouting at the last debate; though respectful of Hillary Clinton’s smarts and superb service as a senator; though unsure who has the best chance of winning in the fall; though aware how much a Clinton win would mean to the person whose opinion I value most in the world, my wife’s.

Here’s what it comes down to: Clinton and Obama have different understandings of what it will take to lead America in 2009 and beyond. And I prefer Obama’s.

Full story here.