Lisa Hrabluk

The win, when it comes, won’t be of biblical proportions.

The ideological sea that divides America isn’t going to part Tuesday night because, despite the fervency of his followers’ belief, Barack Obama is no saviour.

If we are to draw a Biblical analogy, he has more in common with John the Baptist, who wandered alone to prepare the path, and with St. Peter, the first apostle and upon whom a new church was built.

Barack Obama: part bricklayer, part prophesy-offering story-teller.

Ian Brown in Saturday’s Globe and Mail, wrote a lovely feature story about Obama’s appeal to people in Washington D.C. Near the end of the piece he interviews a 17-year-old named Tempestt Newton.

For her, Mr. Obama isn’t “The One;” he isn’t “That One,” as Mr. McCain called him during one debate; he is just one of what she hopes will be many.

That’s it. This sentence coalesced my thoughts about this fascinating U.S. election campaign. I want to see Obama win because I do believe he represents change, but not just a change of policy or even of style.

Obama gives me hope that there are others like him, who want to reach beyond the divisions we have in our communities, whether they are class, race, gender or ideology, and begin to build consensus among citizens.

I hope that an Obama presidency attracts people to public office who up until now have stayed away.

However, for that to happen, political parties must be willing to cede ground to other voices in their party, who may not be the first choice of the flacks and hacks.

The federal Liberal party doesn’t seem to understand that – yet. Neither Michael Ignatieff or Bob Rae are true Grits in the mould of great Liberal leaders. Both have been on the national stage for two years and have failed to ignite any sort of following outside of Liberal party ranks and I doubt either ever will. Perhaps they can reengage the base and maybe, in Canada, that will be enough to win.

Hardly an audacious strategy.