So, having seen Barack Obama in person today, what did I come away with? An increased appreciation for the man as orator, an excitement about the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and a nagging thought that will warm the hearts of my co-editors:

Maybe I should join the Democratic Party, if for nothing else, to vote against Hillary Clinton and for Barak in the primary.

Not that I’m ready to do that. There’s a lot that could happen between now and primary time (especially if the national Dems punish the Florida Dems and render any party switch or vote of mine meaningless).

Frankly, I wish Dennis Kucinich had a snowball’s chance. I like him, not just for his chutzpah, which he has in spades, but for his sense of humor and mostly for his really progressive ideas, which I agree with. Mostly.

But today I was impressed by my local Dem pols, for a change. Not that I gained any respect for the Florida Democratic Party and Karen Thurman, who fortunately had nothing to do with today’s event. But if the Miami-Dade Dems can pull off a series of these events (which they promised Barak was the first of), and if I see some coalition of Dems in Miami and an ongoing robust intensification, organization and concentration of effort, then I might be inclined to give up my independence and drink the Kool-Aid.

Today I saw representatives of Equality Florida, who are backing a Fairness for All Families measure aimed at providing rights to nontraditional families (read:gays), I listened to the first openly gay Hispanic elected official in Miami and I heard my city commissioner talk about passing a bill of rights for the City of Miami that includes “equality for everybody” (Miami is the only city in South Florida that doesn’t have a bill of rights), I heard a song about how religion shouldn’t be used to take away my right to choose, and at the end of the rally I heard a high school choir sing the old Bill Withers song, “Lean On Me.”

It’s probably not likely I’ll drink the Democratic Kool-Aid, but if Obama continues to inspire and motivate people the way he clearly did today in this political backwater of a Third World country, I might just be so inclined.

But don’t hold your breath, Jon and Trish.