Column: Getting to know Barack Obama and what he stands for

Column: Getting to know Barack Obama and what he stands for: "In the spirit of Valentine's Day, let's take a look at the love fest currently surrounding first term Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. No candidate since Robert Kennedy has elicited the kind of fervor among party activists, college students and the media that Sen. Obama is currently enjoying. Obama, thus far, has avoided much of the scrutiny most candidates of his stature would have already endured at this point. Amidst this, it's time to put aside the hype, and take a look at the real Barack Obama. What is it exactly that seems to excite so many about Barack Obama—a first term senator from Illinois with limited legislative and no executive experience? Obama burst onto the national political landscape after delivering a nationally televised speech before the 2004 Democratic National Convention. While his speech was certainly impressive, it didn't seem to merit the lavish reception it received. It is entirely possible, however, that activists made a comparison of Obama and their presidential candidate John Kerry, and came to a similar conclusion Republican activists did at the 1976 convention. Back then, having defeated Ronald Reagan, President Gerald Ford invited Reagan to the floor to address the convention. Without preparation, the future president spoke eloquently and inspirationally to the issues of the day, sending many home thinking Reagan, and not Ford, should have been their nominee. The comparison between Reagan and Obama undoubtedly stops there. Obama has done well in the increasingly important invisible primary—proving his fundraising prowess—but outside of that, one certainly has to be skeptical whether he has the necessary political skills and the thick skin he'll need to make it through a bruising primary. His principal opponent, "