It was just a few weeks ago we were still talking about Hillary Clinton — though her challenge to Obama’s candidacy seems like ancient history now. We’ve moved on, thank god, and our man is taking his show to a larger venue, and, like a small personal musical moving to Broadway there are bound to be some hiccups along the way.

I’m already starting to hear from early adapters complaining that they liked Obama before you did, that they never doubted for a second he would be the candidate and then the president — people who are looking down their nose at folks who are just now getting on the bandwagon. Danger, Will Robinson! If you sit around pouting like some Modest Mouse fan who hates to see her former favorite indie group playing at Madison Square Garden, you will miss the fun of the big parade. Because, inevitably, as Obama presents himself to a larger audience, his message will become broader, not more specific, and more inclusive than combative.

Take his first national ad. It’s all hard work and accountability, a flag pin and family values — you know, the kind of stuff your parents talked about. This is not so much because your parents were right (and you were wrong) about those ideas but because there is a lot of suspicion out there among those who know nothing about him and he needs to allay those fears — and take back some of that language while he’s at it. (You know: whose family, what values?)

Look at the questions the readers of Readers Digest are leaving for the candidates. Some are smart, some are scary — and some are downright off the wall. But overlooking those voters, or taking them for granted, could lead to disaster. Just ask John Kerry, or any number of good candidates who didn’t want to play to a bigger house. A good message will stand up, whether on a fortune cookie or writ large against the sky. Instead of superman at the supermarket it’s going to be Walt Whitman at the Wal-Mart: aisles wide enough for everybody.