I'm guessing that the other bloggers and blog readers are experiencing an environment similar to the one I'm in - it seems like people all around me are extremely psyched for the Feb. 5 primaries. For the most part, my contemporaries are supporting Obama - but "supporting" isn't quite the right word. With the best candidates, it's more like falling in love. You hinge on their every word, can't wait to see their name or their picture again, and you would go to the ends of the earth for them. I'm sure some poet somewhere has written about love being the most powerful force in the world, and I think that's probably true (though attack ads might give love a run for its money).

Of course, Obama has a long way to go, and I give him even money to win the nomination. It'll be interesting to see how the, er, ardor of his supporters plays out in a general election. I don't see too many swooning volunteers on the Republican side of the ticket - outside of New Hampshire, I think most McCain supporters have chosen him as the "least bad" option. Ditto for Mitt Romney (and no one else matters anymore).