Without a doubt, I think John Edwards won tonight’s debate. Obama held his own, but it was Edwards who had the rhetorical chops to rise above. Clinton, however, came off as shrill and unlikable.

Hillary Clinton — what to say about her? We all know that she’s smart and capable, and that she’s been preparing for the presidency at least since her husband was President. Early in the campaign, when I was not particularly enthusiastic, I decided to put my dislikes aside and support her. Hillary is driven by polls and what passed as “centrism” in the 1990′s — give people what you think they want at all costs. She’s not particularly likable, and she’s been in the game so long that she’s forgotten why she’s in it. But she was the front runner and a woman, and I felt I should back her.

But here’s the thing, I’m tired of the Red/Blue fault line that’s governed politics in this country since the Clinton Wars, and I’m sick of the battles the baby boomers have been waging with each other since the 1960′s. Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, John Edwards, even Mr. Milquetoast himself, John Kerry, all embody the conflicts of the 1960′s, the Vietnam War, and the civil rights movement. Quite frankly, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of the baby boomers and their belief that they’re better than the rest of us — they thought they knew more than their parents, and they think that their children should sit down and shut the fuck up and let them drive the car until they die. They took the greatest period of prosperity in the history of the world — the post World War II era — and they shit it away.

What were the Culture Wars of the 1980′s and the Clinton Wars of the 1990′s if not an extension of the conflict that started between the long-haired free loving hippies and the straight laced squares? And what about all of us — “liberal” and “conservative,” forced to fit a role a decade to decades before any of us were born? Why do we agree to this dance, this game of chicken, when we should move forward and turn a page.

Barack Obama, more than any of the other candidates, represents a break from the past. He’s one of us — the baby boomers claim him, but born in 1961, he is really a child of the first wave of Generation X. He was too young to be part of the fights of the 1960′s — indeed, he wasn’t even living in the continental U.S. at the time. His life, like ours, began in the wake of the baby boomers. A central plank of his campaign is to put down our weapons, put aside our battles, and come together as one country again.

This is not Hillary Clinton’s argument — in fact, I’m unable to conjure what her campaign themes are, other than, well “change” generically and “experience” specifically. As far as I can tell, she stands for focus groups and polls and what she thinks people want. Nothing specifically.

And John Edwards — he wants to be an old 30′s-style populist, breaking the back of big business in favor of the “working man.” But the thing is, that’s part of the old paradigm, too. Can he really accomplish anything he says with a congress dominated by K Street? In a perfect world, he would be an awesome candidate, but you deal with the world you have, not the world you’d like. Throw in his commitment to public financing, and John Edwards is not a promising candidate. In a general election, he’d get clobbered.

As I said, Obama represents a break from the old, a willingness to try to get to both sides to come together, again. No mean feat, but one worth attempting. His health care plan is more modest than his opponents, which makes it potentially more viable, and he has been right on Iraq and Iran, and foreign policy generally. When he speaks, he looks and sounds like a president. And lot’s not forget the symbolism of an Obama victory — both African American children and the children of immigrants can look to Obama as proof that America is their country, too. That all of us are Americans, and the policies of hate and Jim Crow are things of the past. That’s a powerful symbol, and one that has to be considered, as well.

With that said, I am filled with excitement at recent polls that put him at either 10 or 12 points ahead of Hillary Clinton. I’ve waited my whole life for the kind of change Barack Obama represents. I think it’s becoming clear that a lot of people feel the same way.

2007 was a remarkable good year for records. So much so, that it’s hard to get my choices down to five — instead I’ve selected six, with two tying for first place. Sadly, Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible did not make the list. As much as I love their first LP, Funeral, Neon Bible suffered from what I call “Belle and Sebastian” syndrome, where each subsequent record is a shadow of the last. Neon Bible, despite a few good new songs (and one classic re-run from Us Kids Know), is not as good as Arcade Fire’s past efforts, and is not one of the best albums of the year.

That said, here’s my list for the best records of 2007:

5. The National, The Boxer

Moody, dark and beautiful, The National takes Joy Division, Bauhaus, Interpol, etc. and comes out with something surprisingly earnest and substantative. The Boxer is a fantastic album, from the opening chords of “Fake Empire” onward. Tina and I saw them open for Arcade Fire this year, and felt that they were better than the main band.

4. Menomena, Friend or Foe

Menomena patches together various snippets of a song using software that they created. The result is somewhat off-kilter, but surprisingly traditional. Favorite songs include “Wet and Rusting” and “Rotten Hell.” When they play live, they have to approximate the recorded songs with real instruments. Great stuff.

3. Shout Out Louds, Our Ill Wills

This Swedish band does their best Cure impression on this record, which wraps the whole thing in a sense of nostalgia. I know to some that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, but Our Ill Wills surpasses simple pastiche into a sublime record of lost loves and wistful melancholy.

2. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

This time around, Kevin Barnes dispenses with the Elephant Six-esque pop of the past in favor of a kind of manic blend of indie pop, electronic dance music, and pure madness. Personal in the same way that the best Mountain Goats records are personal, Barnes lays bear his own mental illness for us all to see. Sometimes uncomfortable, Hissing Fauna are You the Destroyer? is always brilliant.

1. Los Campesinos!, Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP and International Tweexcore Underground Single

Imagine sprawling bands like Belle and Sebastian and Arcade Fire, but making pure indie pop in the vein of bands like Talulah Gosh and Bis. It’s been years since there’s been an indiepop band this good — they channel youthful energy and enthusiasim in a manner of great dead bands. The old record collectors would never admit that they’re the second coming, which is exactly what they are. Can’t wait for the full length.