Here is the irony: for years after 9/11, Democrats (and occasionally, Republicans) aspiring to high office wondered whether they would ever be able to win an election without devoting most of their rhetoric to sounding tough on terror. Entire organizations were born of the need to make Democrats electable by "reclaiming" security. Advocates for global development twisted themselves into knots (us too) wondering how closely to link the threat of terrorism to a straightforward moral entreaty to help the poor and the sick. Would anyone really buy such fluffy platforms in our new, hard power-hungry political climate?

And now comes Barack Obama, who not only refuses to link his hopeful rhetoric to the hard realities of a struggle against terrorism, he takes flak from Democrats and Republicans alike for his relentlessly ebullient message. Granted, Obama has not been tested in a general election; he may yet be forced to delve beneath inspiration and big ideas to compete on the grounds of real policy proposals. But so far Obama's big ideas -- America is a "can-do" place ("Yes we can!"); listeners should be empowered ("You are the change America has been waiting for!") -- the same ones US in the World has been emphasizing for years as gateways to engage the public on global issues, are clearly winning the day.

I admire the way Obama has run his campaign. I admire the fact that he does not accept the conventional wisdom that a long, hard struggle against terrorism will and must define the 21st century (read E.J. Dionne ably challenging John McCain on this). I admire the way he reaches out to Independents and Republicans, during the primary season, who are tired of this old trope. And I resonate with the big ideas he loves to invoke in order to bring Americans together; I've been part of the GII's effort to get global issues advocates to employ these ideas as a way to draw people to our issues for a long time. But while I admire all this, I sure wish he would walk us through the "gateway" ideas he so ably invokes to get our attention and show us what's on the other side. If you needed convincing that the big ideas strategy works, look to further. It's a testament to the power of such ideas (and to Obama himself) that this simple strategy has gotten him so far. But there's got to be something on the other side of the gateway.

If there is something real in there, David Brooks' tongue-in-cheek profile of those of us suffering from "Obama Comedown Syndrome" (OCS) will stay tongue-in-cheek. But the clock is ticking, and OCS may be contagious.