Rooting for Barack Obama this last year has been somewhat like cheering for the Indian cricket team against Australia – you hope they win, you badly want them to win but your expectations, those you keep really low. Senator Obama’s decisive win in the Iowa caucus has me cheering from the rooftops – IOWANS, YOU ROCK( At least the Democrats!) You managed to cut through the bullshit and see through the formidable Clinton media machine.

After Dubya was voted in, not once but twice, the intelligence of the average American voter has been called into question around the world. Opting for US citizenship this year, I have had to defend my decision to friends and family. Now it feels like there is some hope for Americans after all. There is a promise of thoughtful, intelligent leadership and a restoration of integrity to a beleaguered administration. After all, it is the man( or woman) at the top who sets the tone that determines whether an Abu Ghraib or a Guantanamo is tolerated or vilified, whether cronies are welcomed or given the boot.

Can Californians grab the baton Iowans have handed us? Can we understand that a nuanced, sensitive thought process is in no way an impediment to a pragmatic approach to business and immigration?

I know who I’ll be voting for in February.