Obama wins -- in South Carolina!

A new day is dawning in American politics.

You'll see that worn-out cliche more and more between now and November, but this is one cliche that happens to be true.

Barack Obama pulled in 55 percent of the vote, routing Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. This is big news, but not because he is from Illinois, and not because South Carolina people still tell stories about Sherman's infamous march to the sea as if it happened last year.

This is huge because he is the first black candidate for President to be taken seriously. Yes, we aren't supposed to vote for or against a candidate because of the candidate's race, or gender, or religion. But many voters do. You would have expected many South Carolinians to have voted for John Edwards because he is a photogenic white guy who was born in South Carolina . . . but Edwards placed a poor third with 18 percent, winning only his home county.

Obama inspires a lot of people but don't take my word for it. Believe Caroline Kennedy, who wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece: "I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them . . . But for the first time, I believe I have found a man who could be that president - and not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."