When Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, he wowed the crowd with his world-class charisma, showstopper presence and ministerial oratory. But mostly he mesmerized with an all-American message that hit all the right notes in a nation divided by war, malnourished by cynicism and hungry for hope.

After long months of vicious partisanship, his call to unity was both inspired and inspiring. Especially appealing was his dismissal of the idea that we are a nation of hyphenated tribes - African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American - or red states and blue states, blacks and whites, conservatives and liberals.

"We are one people," he said, "all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

It was a nice touch, if not quite true. We are a divided nation such that Barack Obama, whose name is as euphonious as his message, comes along at an epiphanic moment. Part black (his father was from Kenya), part white (his mother was from Kansas), part conservative ("people don't expect government to solve all their problems"), part liberal (supports affirmative action and abortion on demand), he is the deus ex machina in America's 21st-century political theater.

If, that is, he can pull off in practice what he suggests in speech.

What Obama suggested during the convention was a middle-of-the-road approach that sits well with the vast American middle. Fifty percent of Americans identified themselves as "moderate" in 2000.

On multiple levels, this Harvard-educated, married attorney and father of two is just the right blend, a storybook character who is neither too hot nor too cold, but just right, a quintessential offspring of the American cradle.

Republicans have cause to worry as Obama seeks a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. As if to prove all their own stereotypes true, they picked exactly the wrong man to counter Obama's candidacy - former U.N. ambassador and erstwhile presidential candidate Alan Keyes.

Hey, he's black, isn't he?! He went to Harvard, too, didn't he?! And he can out-talk Demosthenes on a caffeine-free day.

All true, which is the point. Republicans continuously struggle to demonstrate their party's inclusiveness, to build their multi-culti credentials and prove that blacks, Asians, Latinos and other minorities have a place at the table. President George W. Bush gave blacks two of the most important jobs in his administration - Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser and Gen. Colin Powell as secretary of state.

At the same time, Republicans can be embarrassingly tone-deaf and arrhythmic. As when, putting their diversity on display at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, they posted a mariachi band at the convention entrance. Whoa, that's clever. Why not just hang a banner that says, "Queremos a los Mexicanos!" (Y sus votos.)" Continued...