After two decades of the GOP wreaking havoc on the political process and driving wedges between various groups in our society, America was ready for someone who could bridge divides, heal wounds, and bring disparate groups together. The image of such a president was so attractive then, that George W. Bush managed to con more than a few people who should have known better to vote for him when he packaged it as being a "uniter, not a divider." So hypnotic was this kind of talk that Bush managed to Svengali more than a few voters -- and most of the national news media -- into not noticing the more than ample evidence that the man was a doofus.
In 2000, what the country was looking for most of all was a soothing caretaker. I would have been happy with that, as long as s/he also had plans for moving the nation steadily in a progressive direction. I would have been all over Obama if he had come out in that election.
But that was then. This is now.