The "Infomercial"

The 30 minute Barack Obama commercial was not aimed at me; I made up my mind who to vote for a while ago. I know the "infomercial" was aimed at the undecideds among us (how many of those can there be? Maybe choosing between a major and a minor party candidate?). But I thought I should watch it nonetheless.
I could not watch it in prime time because I was out getting bits for my awesome Halloween costume, so I tried to find it on the internet (how hard could that be? It was on a number of major networks.). About 15 minutes and at least 4 different websites (including the official Barack Obama site) later, I found it on YouTube, where it had been divided into multiple parts. I'm not sure I watched it in order, but I don't think that influenced what I thought of it.
I thought it was very well done. Yes, I had heard most of the information before, but again, I was not in the target audience. But what I was most amazed at was how I felt while watching the commercial. For the first time in many weeks, my stomach started to unclench. Perhaps it was the background music, perhaps it was the photography, but I felt myself relax. I relaxed as I heard a thoughtful person speak softly but clearly about his ideas. I heard other articulate Americans, from many walks of life, talk about their problems and their dreams. What I didn't hear (and didn't miss) were attacks on opponents, hate speech, or people booing their fellow Americans. The faces I saw were not sneering, not fake in any way. I am getting so tired of the RNC ads on television. I am getting so tired of the John McCain stump clips on television, where he appears to be talking to us as if we were grade school kids. I am tired of feeling such negativity coming from the box in the corner. Barack Obama's commercial made me feel good; happy that there was such a thoughtful individual speaking to me.
Those feelings were reinforced last night, when Rachel Maddow interviewed Barack Obama.
Here were two very bright, very articulate individuals having a great conversation. Maybe one or two campaign lines, but mostly Obama went into greater deal regarding foreign policy, especially Afghanistan. What struck me most was Obama's remarks about the Republican party and why he is not attacking them while on the campaign trail. Duh--he wants to work with them come January (too bad John McCain missed that thought, as he attacks EVERYONE in Washington as elitist). I had to smile when later Rachel called Obama "Mr. Bipartisanship Pants"--she was kidding. She knows he's right and he's the one who can pull it off.
So, I have a little bitty bit of hope for the outcome on Tuesday night. I just hope my stomach unclenches on Wednesday morning.