There is a point every four years when all the attention is on Iowa.

Candidates come and go as if it’s their job – probably because it is. And that love was vindicated on Friday when Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama came to speak on Central Campus.

When I saw him last time he was here, I was bombarded by an extremely generic message that he brought to Hilton Coliseum that brisk winter Sunday. I guess it was the day after he announced his presidential campaign, so I should probably give the guy a break. But as I stood out in the scorching sun Friday, standing close to the global warming snowman to cool off (it turned out to be a costume – I was a little disappointed), I found myself reeling at every word that came out of his mouth – but not for reasons that you might think.

I like Barack Obama. There, I said it. But I’m not going to vote for him. He’s funny, he’s charismatic, and I really, really, really like the idea of having a fresh, uncorrupted face in the Oval Office. One of the few points he made that I actually agreed with was when he discussed the discontent with his lack of experience. He said something along the lines of “Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney have some of the longest resumes in Washington,” implying experience doesn’t always matter. And let’s be frank – it would be nice to get some of those guys with “experience” out of there (I’ll be sad when Bush leaves the White House, but not when Cheney does).

It is unfortunate for Obama, however, that I don’t vote for someone simply for being a “nice guy.” I vote policy. And his is outrageous.

But on Friday, it wasn’t the policy with which I took issue. When I listened to him spout off campaign promises, there were several things running through my mind. The one area where his inexperience might have hindered his judgment actually is in his campaign promises. He sounds genuine about getting things done, only because he is.

However, the possibility of actually accomplishing those tasks the moment he steps into office is much less likely than he makes it out to be. So it isn’t necessarily empty promises he is making, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up disappointing his constituents the way the newly Democratic Congress has, simply by not being able to perform as expected.

What bothered me the most was I found myself wondering why there can’t be a Republican candidate like him.

Rudy Giuliani would probably come closest in demeanor, but Obama has a swagger about him that is hardly comparable, which is why – as much as I hate to admit this – I think he will be our next president. I just don’t understand why there can’t be someone on my side who has Obama’s attitude yet has a policy that will actually work. How hard is it for Republicans to be able to improvise in almost any particular situation, or to get someone with an opposing viewpoint – like me with Senator Obama – to continue to go to their speeches to actually listen to them, rather than just to hold signs in protest?

Although Obama is not my candidate, his attitude is refreshing in modern American politics. And it is this attitude that many of our current politicians – both liberal and conservative – need to have if they really want to gain higher trust – and perhaps more importantly greater interest – from the American public. Thank you, Sen. Obama, for being a bright, upstanding human being – it really is too bad that I won’t be voting for you next year.

– Andrew Gionnette is a senior in mechanical engineering from

Chanhassen, Minn.