(Full disclosure: I have tended to vote GOP recently, and deeply regret a vote for Bush II.)

The biggest change that Obama proposes is the end of divisive partisan politics. He says it a lot, and so far I have not heard him engage in the deep ugliness that has swallowed up both parties in recent years. The Clintons have mastered the art of dirty politics, mudslinging, and name calling. Look at Bill’s romp through South Carolina for proof of that.

And the Republicans? Do I need to list their activities or can we just stipulate?

This is why Obama is catching on. It’s not health care, it’s not some policy plank or party line. It’s that he represents the potential end of “fight to death” partisan politics. He embraces “compromise,” a strategy that marked US governance through about 1950. Since then, it’s been “winner take all” politics, better to die than compromise. And look where it’s gotten us.

When I hear Obama say “change,” that’s what I hear. When I say Clinton say “change,” I think she means “It’s time for the Bush’s to go and the Clintons to take over again.”