By Ivo Ivanov, Kansas City Star Midwest Voices panelist

Reason # 7: RUNNING MATES

Initially, I wasn’t convinced that Barack Obama made the right choice by picking Joe Biden as his running mate.

Then came the one and only vice presidential debate and Joe “six pack” (he’s been doing crunches) Biden smacked a 500 foot homerun. He came across as extremely knowledgeable, intelligent, caring, funny, gracious, calm, tough, human and…overqualified. Yes, Biden was so overwhelmingly good at the debate that I couldn’t help but think that he is more ready to be president than Obama. His opponent didn’t perform badly. Take away a few ill-advised mannerisms and she exceeded every expectation – it’s just that he took it out of the ball park in every aspect.

I’ll go against the grain here and say that John McCain’s pick was a brilliant if selfish move. It was a cosmetic procedure that he knew was urgently needed. Don’t forget that his campaign was basically left for dead in the political morgue just before the convention. Sarah Palin’s charisma and speech reading bravado at least got it back on its feet and moving. Sure, it was a slow walking zombie but at least now it was on the streets looking for a bite of flesh to eat.

Unfortunately for McCain, Palin’s inexperience and massive deficiencies were discovered almost immediately. As mentioned, this is the information age and every little mistake is instantly identified, magnified and distributed virally around the world. Her interviews were unprecedented, scandalous disasters. As a concept, Sarah might have worked in Dan Quayle times but the 21st century is a different story and I’m sure McCain wished many times that not a sound would come out every time she opened her mouth in front of the press...like a real barracuda.

Reason # 6: BRANDING AND MARKETING

It’s all about formulating your identity, branding an uncomplicated message and marketing it to everybody over the age of 18, isn’t it?

Obama, managed by a team of brilliant Washington outsiders, was able to package, market and distribute his charismatic self and easily digestible message of “change”.

McCain on the other hand struggled to find an electable identity and clear voice, losing himself inside the ambiguous labyrinths of his “maverick” persona.

Reason # 5: JOHN MCCAIN

Just a few months ago it was hard not to respect and value Senator John McCain. An independent thinking war hero that habitually ignored party lines to make the right decision, he was perceived as man of integrity and honor. But with his back pushed to the wall by a powerful Obama campaign, McCain changed dramatically.

It was a stunning, negative transformation that can only be explained with his campaign management team – I have a hard time believing that almost overnight the Senator from Arizona compromised almost everything he stood for. He hired the same shady, mud slinging characters that he criticized for swift boating fellow war hero Kerry in 2004. Karl Rove, the man he loathed, became a consultant for his own campaign.

Unable to come up with superior plan on the issues, he focused on his opponent. In the last month, his entire strategy was centered on digging through Obama’s history trash bin in search of irrelevant past relationships.

He treated his opponent with utter disrespect during the first two debates and used up his campaign funds almost exclusively for negative robo-calls and TV commercials. His temper and demeanor became points of concern for voters. At this point, I am convinced that the McCain of old wouldn’t have voted for his new self on November 4th.

Reason # 4: BARACK OBAMA

Whether you want to use the cultural ethnonym “WASP” or not, it is hard to argue that for the last 232 years, The United States of America has had more or less the same president. Caucasian, prosperous members of the powerful political elite had pretty much usurped the executive branch.

They were Johns, and Georges, and Richards, and Jims. They often went by Jr. or the II or the III. Now we will have a man called Barrack Obama in the White House and America’s historic decision speaks volumes about the way this country has changed.

The United States of America has always searched for national identity in the melting pot designation and in the idea that anything is possible in the land of opportunity. Barack Obama is the epitome of this concept. He is bi-racial, multicultural, open minded and self-made – in many ways he is America.

Obama came to the political scene at the right moment and with the right tools. We needed a charismatic, resourceful leader with fresh ideas, intelligence and solid integrity. Obama is that man. He is a born politician, who can energize a crowd with his sheer presence and convey his message with ease and emotion. Here is something very indicative of Barack’s character: in his giant 30 minute infomercial he never once spoke against McCain’s character or Sarah Palin’s weaknesses. He respects his opponent and this presidential quality will be reflected in the way he administers his power.