Let's not forget 2000; W "won" but was he "awesome"? Probably in his own mind.

Please, really, do not forget this. The Repubs are planning today for such a scenario, an "awesome" win. "You bet-cha!'

I worked for the RNC in DC in '98.

After all, it doesn't even take a majority to win an election sometimes.  Occasionally, all you need is a plurality.  

"All men..." is rarely a literally true statement.  But it usually gestures at powerful social forces that relate to the gender orientation of our society as a whole.

Barack is a deeply committed liberal, and I am a proud conservative. Even so, he possesses five qualities that are genuinely praiseworthy -- political ideology aside:

He's intelligent. Clearly, his achievements reveal that Barack Obama possesses intellectual credentials that would impress even the snootiest resume snob. But (perhaps more importantly) he also possesses street smarts. As Hillary Clinton can testify, he knows how to throw a punch as well as how to take one. He is able to size up people accurately. What's more, he respects "real world" intelligence, a quality that's all-too-rare among those with stellar academic records - but one that's vital to someone in public life who must rely on the assistance of an extensive staff. ...

He's colorblind. When Barack became the first African-American President of The Harvard Law Review, it was big news. More radical black Review editors urged him not only to take controversial stands on a whole host of racial issues - they also pressured him to use his discretion to elevate black students to leadership positions within the organization. Barack declined to do so; though his choices were often left-wing (as, in fairness, was much of the Review's membership), they weren't race-conscious.

As the lead federal prosecutor of the Weathermen in the 1970s (I was then chief of the criminal division in the Eastern District of Michigan and took over the Weathermen prosecution in 1972), I am amazed and outraged that Senator Barack Obama is being linked to William Ayers's terrorist activities 40 years ago when Mr. Obama was, as he has noted, just a child.

Although I dearly wanted to obtain convictions against all the Weathermen, including Bill Ayers, I am very pleased to learn that he has become a responsible citizen.

RE informing ourselves, good for you for asking.  It's pretty complex but you get get a glimpse of history or a good look via feature-film-length 93 minutes of documentary on the Weather Underground by googling the Weather Underground documentary...you can watch the 10 min into or the 93 min feature-length film which brings it all back...for me at least.