Thanks for considering me an expert on enlightenment though. ;-)

The "messiahizing" (coining a new word here) of a candidate is nothing new. Only 16 short years ago Bill Clinton was the promised child, the famous handshake with Kennedy photo was supposed to clinch it for those who wanted a celebrity/messiah President who believed in all the right things and was going to undo the damage of 12 years of Republican reign in the Oval Office.

Didn't quite turn out that way did it?

What's so ironic is that in the process for Obama to rise to the role of Messiah - Bill Clinton has had to be burnt in effigy by the same voices who hoisted him. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi getting struck down so that his Force could inspire Luke, Clinton is, as I write this, having his robes stamped upon by the black booted media, checking to make sure they really killed him. Obama is the new messiah and as all religionist know you can't have two messiahs. One per customer.

Any real lighted being wouldn't be a politician of any sort - much less a President. Period. Jesus didn't run for office, didn't seek to vote "present" for awhile till he could jump at the catbird seat of power. The sermon at the mount was not a political speech. So that leave folks who can be "inspired" by enlightened folks and bring out the best in them. Folks like Franklin, Jefferson and Washington .

Enlightenment, like all things is a relative term. Is Obama enlightened next to say a suicide jihadist? Sure. Quite enlightened.

Is he more enlightened than ex-Messiah Bill Clinton? Perhaps. I suspect he is almost identical in nature. Big on "feeling" and ever so empty on substance. Should he be sworn in, I would expect almost an exact replay of the first Clinton administration, perhaps sans under desk liaisons.

What's more ironic is the type of "spiritual" non-religious folks Morford is talking about generally completely object to the sort of "organized" religious folks Obama has listened to and embraced for the past 20 years. It's a stellar case of self-delusion.

Truly enlightened folks should know - you don't need a leader to follow. You don't simply seek material change in the world about you and measure your enlightenment by the enlightenment of others. In a world of vastly varying development you accept that much of the horror around us is actually a necessary development level for "younger" souls. The 3rd world and the thresholds of intellect and capacity make this quite self-evident.

An elementary school doesn't omit classrooms for Kindergarten and 1st grade simply because the fourth graders now find the material and behavior of these children objectionable...

Obama may seem enlightened to some 2nd graders and even some 3rd graders. Meanwhile the 5th graders are going, "Huh?"

But again - it's all relative.

;-)