Barack Obama a Top Presidential Contender
For months, I've had a list of likely presidential candidates among Democrats taped above my desk. A couple of weeks ago, I added Barack Obama's name. He was a major draw during the fall campaigns this year and now he's on a book tour. And testing the presidential waters.
Patrick Healy of The New York Times had a story a couple of days ago on Barack Obama's visit to New York:
Over at the Daily Kos, Obama did well in a reader poll along with Wesley Clark and John Edwards. Reader polls are not reliable though and in this case Hillary Clinton only managed 5% (however, Senator Clinton is not popular among some activists and netroots and that's something to keep in mind).
Finally, The Boston Globe reports a growing draft Obama movement:
Barack Obama is a wonderful, charismatic speaker and he interviews well on TV. But he has less experience than John Edwards had three years ago and he's several years younger. Another problem I have is that I haven't really seen Obama take a stand on a number of difficult issues. His record in the Senate has also been very safe. How would he handle political adversity or serious debate? We don't know yet. John Kennedy was young and charismatic but he was part of a powerful political family and he was groomed for politics from early on.
Frankly, I didn't think Obama would try for the presidency for another six to ten years. Is he rushing things, is he being smart by preparing now for an election down the road, or is his time coming in the 2008 election? If he enters, it's going to be an interesting campaign.
Patrick Healy of The New York Times had a story a couple of days ago on Barack Obama's visit to New York:
Senator Barack Obama treaded onto Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s home turf last night to meet with prominent Democratic donors and feel out those who might prefer the sound of President Obama to President Clinton (as in Hillary, not Bill).
Amid intensifying presidential musings by Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama met with George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist, then some other donors last night at Mr. Soros’s offices. ...
Over at the Daily Kos, Obama did well in a reader poll along with Wesley Clark and John Edwards. Reader polls are not reliable though and in this case Hillary Clinton only managed 5% (however, Senator Clinton is not popular among some activists and netroots and that's something to keep in mind).
Finally, The Boston Globe reports a growing draft Obama movement:
Organizers of DraftObama.org say they plan to travel to New Hampshire this weekend to show their support of Senator Barack Obama, who will hold his first events in the state on Sunday.
Barack Obama is a wonderful, charismatic speaker and he interviews well on TV. But he has less experience than John Edwards had three years ago and he's several years younger. Another problem I have is that I haven't really seen Obama take a stand on a number of difficult issues. His record in the Senate has also been very safe. How would he handle political adversity or serious debate? We don't know yet. John Kennedy was young and charismatic but he was part of a powerful political family and he was groomed for politics from early on.
Frankly, I didn't think Obama would try for the presidency for another six to ten years. Is he rushing things, is he being smart by preparing now for an election down the road, or is his time coming in the 2008 election? If he enters, it's going to be an interesting campaign.
Labels: 2008 presidential race, Barack Obama
posted by Poechewe at 10:52 PM
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