Why Obama makes me uneasy

OK, so he's charismatic and young and exciting and black and all. And he could make the Vladivostok telephone directory sound exciting and resonant if he read it out. But that doesn't stop sentiments like this in his nomination speech anything other than creepy and weird.

I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.

Vote for me and I will heal the sick, clothe the needy, heal the earth and, um, run away from Iraq. People used to (used to? Sorry still do) criticise George Bush for his slightly evangelical style - but at least he didn't set himself up as the Messiah. A google search for "is Obama the Messiah" bring in nearly 17,000 hits - including the wonderfully creepy Chris Matthews line:

It's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often.

A whole lot of people are going to really disappointed when they discover that Obama really is just another politician with a nice line in speeches.