Yep.  Even if he loses, the novelty will be over for a next minority (or female) candidate.  Unless there isn't one for 50 years or so.  My sense of it is that a rubicon has been crossed, and that is a good thing.  Having said that, none of those things have anything to do with whether or not Obama is the best candidate remaining.  He might be, but folks ought to vote with that in mind.

I read an article on the late Bill Buckley, Jr. tonight, and although I don't often agree with him (especially on issues involving religion), I thought this thought was appropriate.  It said, "while branded a 'black reactionary,' opposed to liberalism in all its forms, he (Buckley) was most intent on battling 'liberal orthodoxy,' the presumption that liberal ideas were inherently superior to conservative ones and liberal attitudes intrinsically virtuous." 

It strikes me that Buckley's opinion of this could describe Obama and some of his supporters to a "T."  In their unbridled hubris, they might keep this in mind.  Obama would succeed only to the extent that he make decisions based on the facts.  If he becomes a polar opposite ideologue to George W. Bush, things may get worse rather than better.