Barack Obama walks down the beach with his daughters Malia, left, and Sasha during his vacation to Hawaii.
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I happened to be in Alaska the week Sarah Palin was introduced to the world, and around me I saw the America I had grown up on: full of open space and possibility, blessed with great oil reserves and immigrants from everywhere, scenically gorgeous--but tied to the go-it-alone spirit of a "last frontier." It looked as much like the America of my boyhood as Hawaii and the burger joint looked like the America of tomorrow. The kids next to us in the North Shore shack seemed much less concerned with where they came from than with where they were headed.
Barack Obama the man is sure to disappoint some of the expectations his fans have; any man would, especially in the age of the 24/7 news cycle. But the past and the future that he speaks for are precisely the ones that belong so uniquely to the new century and the 95% of humans who are our neighbors at the global burger table. It's more than possible to make your fortune in Alaska--but I'd much rather find the future in Hawaii.