So I just finished watching President-elect Obama’s second news conference in two days on the economy and the unveiling of his economic team.

Barack, you got me hooked… so far.

I feel like the guy in high school that meets that hot chick. You’re really taken by her, but you’re wondering “this is too good to be true. She probably smells funny.” Or how about that business person who seems to be the dream business partner: are they really a crook in disguise?

And more personal: I can’t tell you the number of talent agents that blow you away on those first meetings or the first months of phone calls (Kid, you’re going to be a star with me”), that turn out to be flaky “Slow No” people. They never tell you “no” or the truth; they just keep putting you off with false optimism.

For you sports fans, think about how you think your baseball team is the worst and then, like the Phillies this year, they win the World Series.

That’s my fear with our new President. But I like what I’m hearing. He seems to be reading what I’ve been writing about for the last three years.

Today he mentioned that his budget would eliminate corporate welfare. He used as an example millionaire farmers who get huge federal subsidies they don’t need.

What has angered me about my Republican and conservative friends is their constant harping that we have the highest business tax rate in the industrialized world. They fail to account the corporate give-backs that lobbyists and interest group have bribed (my word) our elected officials into legislating. Include those subsidies and America is the third lowest tax rate.

In defense of some of these friends, they own small businesses that don’t get that legal bribe money from politicians. So, their tax rate is worse. Yet, they still defend the behemoth businesses that gobble up these breaks and do little for the little guy.

Obama also made it clear that his “friends” won’t be getting preferential treatment. He said it’s all about meeting the needs of the American people, not the political whims of politicians. The fact that he said it aloud on tape means that he’s serious about holding his own feet and his old buddies’ feet to the fire. I like that.

Granted, the devil will be in the budget details. You can see some of the details in the eyes of the two budget director nominees introduced today. They resembled deer in headlights. Their job is not going to be easy. Bet they piss off a lot of the old guard still left in Congress. I envision West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd throwing darts at a board with their faces on it. Thank God, Ted Stevens is gone.

Besides the domestic details, we also don’t know what effect foreign affairs will have on the budget. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are still a drag and we’re not pulling out anytime soon. And who knows what else will happen. (A source is telling me the foreign policy surprise — or disaster — will be Sudan in 2009.) George W. Bush couldn’t envision 9/11 when he took office in 2001.

So, I’m more prepared to be less euphoric.

But still, President-elect Obama engenders great confidence with his demeanor and intellectual curiosity. He also comes across more transparent. We’ll see how long that lasts when it comes to foreign affairs and national security.

Let’s be honest: I don’t know that John McCain would do anything different that Barack Obama is doing now. This economic crisis demands a Keynesian approach. McCain would be printing money just like Obama. But McCain does not have the vigor or intellectual curiosity that Obama has; two things we need.

So, so far, we’ve made a good choice.