Marc Andreessen has talked to Barack Obama for 90 minutes and written about the experience. I don't want this to be buried in the scratchpad; you'll want to read this. Tidbits such as:

Senator Obama's political opponents tend to try to paint him as some kind of lightweight, which he most definitely is not. ... I think he's at or near the top of the scale of intelligence of anyone in political life today. ... He's crisp, lucid, analytical, and clearly assimilates and synthesizes a very large amount of information -- smart.

If Marc Andreessen thinks you are smart, you are really freakin' smart. Secondly, this:

One of the reasons Senator Obama comes across as so fresh and different is that he's the first serious presidential candidate who isn't either from the World War II era (Reagan, Bush Sr, Dole, and even McCain, who was born in 1936) or from the Baby Boomer generation (Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore, and George W. Bush). ... It's very clear when interacting with Senator Obama that he's totally focused on the world as it has existed since after the 1960's -- as am I, and as is practically everyone I know who's younger than 50.

Which echoes a point I have mentioned again and again when talking about Obama and why I like him: he is thinking about the world as it is now, not fighting the battles of the 60s and 70s over and over again. He is the candidate thinking about what's next, not what used to happen.

God damn, I want this man to be president.