Purging the lobbyists would not usher in a new era of harmony; ideological differences, which proceed largely from worldview, have always existed and always will. If Obama were actually committed to unity, he could promote something less ambitious than ideological nirvana in America. He could encourage his fellow liberals to quit polarizing people on grounds of race, economic status or gender. Indeed, Obama contributes to poisoning those waters when he blithely states we'd do a better job of addressing our education problems if we didn't look at the plight of black and Latino kids and say, "That's not our problem."

Please speak for yourself, Mr. Obama, for it is liberals such as you who oppose school vouchers aimed at freeing kids from entrapment in inner-city schools.

Instead, Superintendent Obama will decree that government "invest" in early childhood education, presumably so Big Brother can begin the indoctrination process earlier. He'll make public schools put more emphasis on art, music, science and poetry. He'll make college more affordable to everyone.

Obama's unrealism also dominates his approach to foreign policy. He insists he doesn't just want to end our involvement in the Iraq war but "end the mindset that gets us into war." He admonishes us not to focus on the "common enemy," but on restoring "a sense of diplomacy." Employing a stunningly novel concept, he'd try to resolve our differences with other nations without resorting to war.

Setting aside that George Bush did exhaust all realistic diplomatic avenues before attacking Iraq, Obama's recurring theme rears its naive head again: We can all get along -- even terrorists -- if we remove the arbitrary barriers against believing in man's perfectibility and that even terrorists and tyrants aren't evil.

Obama's health care proposals are similarly fantastic. He would provide every American with coverage that's at least equal to that of members of Congress. With his executive wand, he would reduce everyone's premiums by $2,500 a year and outlaw exclusions for pre-existing conditions. Dr. Barack would also mandate that the health care industry focus more on prevention and primary care. But wait, there's more: He'll accomplish all this by the end of his first term.

This is just a sampling. But what's scarier than Obama's far-fetched promises is that people -- in droves -- believe them. We must hope others are paying closer attention.