Four years ago we were asking this very question. We decided upon a senator who before entering the Senate was a state senator and constitutional law professor. At the time we were nearing the end of one of the worst presidencies in history. The incumbent president had launched two wars, destroyed our economy and was doing his very best to undermine our Constitution in the name of "national security." That is where we stood as a nation. That is what we were looking to change.
Barack Obama campaigned on the idea of bringing change. This meant not merely a change in policy, but also a change in demeanor and change in the decision-making process. No longer would we have a president completely sure in and of himself, convinced he was right and no need of listening to anyone else. Instead, we were electing a president that would listen to his advisers. A president that would weigh all his options and think them through before coming to a decision. A president that would use his brain, and not his gut.