Who would know better what to order at a Norwegian food stall?

I asked him if he thought our best days were behind us as a country. Yes, he said we have serious problems, and Obama had "overpromised" in his Denver speech.

Yet Ackerman saw in Obama someone who has "energy and leadership ability. He is a solid guy who can get things done." Ackerman described himself as an "American Exceptionalist"— someone who believed in the unique qualities and destiny of our country.

That was one reason, he said, why he had volunteered to help lead a Minneapolis-based movement to ban the use of torture by the American government under any and all circumstances. The practice violated what made us special as a nation, he said.

Then we went out separate ways—in search of more Minnesota food.

© 2008