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I remember all too clearly Barack Obama’s “Audacity of Hope” speech at the 2004 Democratic Party convention. The little-known Senate contender from Illinois delivered the keynote speech at an event also notable for John Kerry’s acceptance of the Party’s Presidential nomination. I was studying for a degree in politics at the time and, for a Brit, had an unhealthy interest in the US election on late night BBC. Like the rest of the world, my main concern was something along the lines of “Surely not again?”

This conviction died the moment Obama left the podium. Jaw locked in open position, the cold light of day pouring in through the window and out of the TV, the unthinkable had become a certainty: Four more years were inevitable.

Obama’s speech effectively lost the election for Kerry. “Why couldn’t that guy be running instead?” In stark contrast to the Massachusetts man, Obama exposed the “Anyone but Bush” idea that proved ultimately so devastating for the Democrats; clearly, “anyone” just wouldn’t do. Political commentators, network television and foreign students alike saw in Obama – even then – a far more attractive figurehead through which to channel the anger and frustration of 2000’s hanging chads. The “Obama phenomenon” was born as quickly as Kerry was upstaged at what should have been his own party. For many, their love affair with Barack Obama began that July night in Boston.

Four years later and his message of hope has reduced even staunch critics to weak-kneed virgins of political flirtatiousness. Running mate Joe Biden’s conversion to the Obama cause is a case in point. Rebecca Lewis, President of Democrats Abroad Spain here in Barcelona, disagrees. “‘Conversion’ is the die-hard Republican octogenarian who showed up at our Barcelona primaries to change her affiliation and vote for Obama. In her words, “‘He is simply the best!’” While this sounds plucked straight from the Party songbook, Obama’s appeal to difference is perhaps why so much fuss is being made over his across the board appeal. His "skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him too" image has gathered momentum to the point where we’re all identifying ourselves as that “skinny kid”, yet can also add with confidence that we’re black, gay, female, under 25, Muslim, immigrant, or whatever we want to be: politics has a place for us too. Obama’s image is atypical of everyone and everything synonymous with political rot the world over. “His bi-racial, multicultural background, combined with his antiwar stance on Iraq certainly resonates with people around the world,” believes Rebecca Lewis. “He also reminds America of our immigrant foundations and our ‘Melting Pot’ sobriquet.”

This “reminder” could prove Obama’s downfall, but maybe that’s for another article. The surest way to measure how successfully a candidate has touched the ‘average voter’ is simple: How much money do they have? Cold hard cash takes love to a whole different level in any relationship, and more Americans than ever have put their money where their ballot is, pledging $5 here, $15 there, to Obama’s campaign. He raised somewhere in the region of $66 million in August alone.

With his candidacy, if nothing else, Obama has broken the image of politics as the preserve of grey haired suit-wearing white guys. Call it astute political opportunism, cult of celebrity infatuation, or even the possibility of real meaningful change; Obama has wooed the masses, the media and ‘The Man’ to the crest of – should he win – the most romantic victory the storybooks have ever seen.