Obama story covers most of Sunday New York Times frontpage

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT, page one: Obama Showing New Confidence With Iowa Sprint
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: December 16, 2007

WATERLOO, Iowa — Senator Barack Obama is seeking to capitalize on a moment of opportunity in the weeks before the Iowa caucuses to challenge Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s long dominance of the Democratic field, and in doing so, he now faces intensified questions about his vulnerabilities in a general election.

These days, Mr. Obama spends less time acknowledging Mrs. Clinton as he speaks to Iowans. But he finds himself at the center of a fusillade of criticism from his rivals, including an assertion by former President Bill Clinton that to elect Mr. Obama would be to “roll the dice” for America — a comment that validates the political threat Mr. Obama poses.

Mr. Obama, in an interview on Friday, addressed the shift in sentiment about his prospects of beating Mrs. Clinton in Iowa and holding her off in New Hampshire and other states that follow. “A month ago, I was an idiot,” he said. “This month, I’m a genius.”

The campaign of Mr. Obama, which slogged uncertainly through a period in the late summer and fall, alarming contributors who feared that he might have missed his moment, is now brimming with confidence as he delivers a closing argument to Iowa voters. His speeches are noticeably crisper, his poise is more consistent and many supporters say they no longer must rely upon a leap of faith to envision him winning the nomination.

With one week remaining before the campaign pauses for Christmas, Mr. Obama is dashing through a 22-city tour from the Mississippi River in the east to the Missouri River in the west, rushing to lock in voters before a holiday interlude. His organization faces its greatest test yet: turning enthusiasm among many grass-roots Democrats into widespread support at the caucuses on Jan. 3 in precincts that will decide the outcome, particularly rural areas where his support still remains uneven after 10 months of campaigning....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/us/politics/16obama.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

[Olney Blue]

1. Nice!

[msongs]

2. so look who is now the corporate darling. remember when obama fans derided the corporations? nt

[Jim Sagle]

3. That was then, this is now.

As the empty pantsuit exits stage right, the empty suit enters stage right.

[madrchsod]

4. there`s not a lot of difference between hillary and obama

neither candidate is going to stray from the straight and narrow when it comes to the issues. i do not look for any great reforms from either candidate. the country will take a slow turn to the left but not enough to wake anyone up