Why has it taken us this long?

A year since we arrived in the US, a year in which we have been fully swept along by election fever, we have finally decided to blog about the man everyone is of course talking about: Barack Obama.

This blog is non partisan, although I am sure the authors' biases will become plainly clear. Like him or not, Obama is a fascinating character, one whose place in history is already assured. The frequent barb used against him - that he has no experience - contributes to this fascination: Obama really has come from nowhere.

Yet, during his brief stint on the largest stage, he has already flip-flopped not just on policy, but also on the Barack Obama that is presented to the world. He has always championed "hope" and "change", but this stance was initially seen as endearing and naive when he first announced his candidacy. It was then viewed with genuine excitement; his message backed by a whirlwind grassroots campaign that spread his message virally through the internet and high octane college debate.

Then, as the campaign for the Democratic nomination dragged on, as Hillary Clinton refused to fall away even as the team around her began to disintegrate, Obama, visibly and understandably, began to weary. His spark seemed to abandon him, his message began to shake. Some of those initially bound by the Obama spell began to listen to his opponents who said that his appeal was not strong enough across all fifty states and throughout America’s broad demographic.

Yet, Obama hauled himself across the finishing line and the Clintons, both Bill and Hillary, have ostensibly thrown their political weight behind him.

Now new challenges and accusations have surfaced. As he tussles with John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, the inevitable rumours about his heritage and his religion begin to whisper a little louder. It is, of course, absurd to think that Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim, but according to a recent poll an astonishing 12 percent of Americans do so.

Also, that message of “hope” and “change” has started to look more calculating. Since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee, Obama has steadily shifted across to the centre on some of his policies. He has fudged his position on Iraq by saying that, “We need to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in,” and in the last couple of days has reiterated his support for a powerful Israel in the Middle East.

Many of those grassroots supporters, initially so overwhelmed by the liberal, groundbreaking Obama that announced his candidacy back in February 2007, have begun to doubt his willingness to “change” anything.

And so, over the next few months, we will monitor this shape shifter as he plots his route to the White House, and wait to see, if indeed he does become the USA’s first black president, whether he slides back to the left and reinforces the hope that propelled him to the forefront of world democracy.