ILLINOIS - Land of Obama

Until a few months ago, you could mention presidential politics in the confines of Murphy's Red Hots, Gino's East, or the Billy Goat Tavern and feel comfortable that the discourse would eventually land on one of two topics: Honest Abe or JFK.  Lincoln, of course, because he's Lincoln - the Railsplitter, the Emancipator, the favorite son of this proud state. Like the ancient cities of Alexandria and Constantinople, we deify him to the extent that we've renamed this vast Midwestern plain his land --- the Land of Lincoln. Kennedy is remembered for more dubious reasons.  It was Chicago, after all, with its Democratic machine, loose morality, and preservation for the voting rights of the dead, that may have propelled Jack Kennedy to the Oval Office.  This fact is recounted not with horror over the perversion of national democracy, but rather with the relish of the unruly sudent who aced Calculus by stealing the answer key.

So it is a bit strange that a new  name has entered the lexicon; a name as diverse as the neighborhoods of the city of Chicago - Barack Obama. Never mind the nasal Midwestern accent occasionally twisting the surname to mimic the cheer you might hear at an Auburn - Alabama game...o'BAMA.  No, this young Senator has taken the drama from this democratic primary and filled the Illinois election season with sounds typically reserved for the Dog Days of Cubs seasons past..."Just wait for the Fall."  Except it ain't da Bears that Illinoisans as their next champion, it's the junior senator with the funny name.

Come Super Tuesday evening, expect no drama from the dems of Illinois. Hillary may have been born here, but she wears Yankees pinstripes, not Cubby blue. As for the GOP, the expectations lie with McCain. He is vastly more popular among the moderate repubs here.  The hope from the Romney supporters is that Independents flock to cast their vote for the native son, Obama, leaving the base of the party to make the overall results much closer.