Re: Obama survives, prepares for general election
I went to a party a few weeks ago, an met a fellow who is actually a member of my church. Turns out he is one of the leading Democratic pollsters in the country. His firm does overnight polling every night of the week. We talked for almost two hours.
He says that Obama has the largest "excitement" factor of any democratic candidate in recent history. I personally believe that Kaleem is right, as a junior Senator he has not accomplished much. Most Junior Senators don't. But Obama is a legitimate phenomenon within the Democratic party, a candiate with real sizzle, even if he has little ballast.
This same pollster also said that the number one Democratic issue was going to be the Economy. Iraq has clearly faded from peoples minds as the number one voting issue. Apparetnly most Democratic Leaders are seeing Obamas Rock Star credentials and salivating at the prospect of a genuinely electric candidate. They see Hillary as very old school, virtually Billary III. Democrats are going to love Obama in this elelction. He is a genuine two term threat, with name recognitoin, oratory skills, very little bagage, and a huge base of mainline support.
The real question is, can he expand his appeal, and will the white working class embrace him as a mainstream Democrat? It seems to me that McCain could well be the beneficiary of Hillaries Hillbillies.