Could Obama win in a national election?

[MoonRiver]

He seems to have enormous appeal among Democrats. My question is whether his race and lack of experience in foreign affairs would negatively impact his candidacy. Although I admire Obama, my first choices are Gore and Clark. However, I would like to know more about Obama in case he becomes a front runner.

[Vorta]

1. no, yes, yes

[Gwerlain]

2. I think he needs a bit more seasoning, and...

the fact that I think that makes me also think that he could not. Not yet. I don't think the pendulum's swung that far yet.

[EFerrari]

8. Lack of experience in foreign affairs sure didn't hold Junior back.

I hear he can find the Earth on a globe now.

[Homer Wells]

3. I don't think his race would hurt him

(after all, many were all for Colin Powell in 2000), but his lack of experience just might hurt. I think he would be a fine candidate for VP, with a run for Pres in 2016.

[SmokingJacket]

5. Lack of experience didn't hurt Bush. nt

[MoonRiver]

7. There have been many winning candidates who had little experience.

Charisma and the ability to withstand the Rethug smear machine mean everything, imo. Personally, I worry about what happened to Ford. You KNOW they will be dragging Obama through their racist/fascist grinder in the South, although maybe we shouldn't even worry about that part of the country.

[jannyk]

13. and look how well that worked out

...and while I adore Obama, I think he, and the country, would be better served by him being VP to someone like Gore setting him up to be a Presidential candidate 8 years hence.

Bush's lack of experience, and well as all his other shortcomings, were overcome by his father having been POTUS. I think a fair chunk that voted for him assumed, that being the son of a living President, gave him more insight and experience than he would ever possess. That together with daddy's heavy hitting cronies stumping for him, gave him much more credence in the eyes of the uninformed voters.

If Bush's name had been Jones, and his daddy hadn't been Pres, he would not have been put in the Whitehouse.

I think Obama would make a good President, but not this time around.

[Vorta]

6. I think a lot of the people calling for Colin Powell were republicans trying to sound openminded

Yes, if a black man was the GOP candidate, a whole lot of Republicans would vote for him because they would vote for any Republican over nay Democrat. But I think that a good portion of their "grassroots" in the pigfarm known as "religious right" would vote for the Constitution Party candidate, since they would like to vote for him anyway.

[liberalpragmatist]

4. Here's a good overview on what Obama has accomplished in the Senate

http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2006/10/barack_obama.html

[never cry wolf]

34. Great article, thx for posting. and yes, he could

everyone's favorite pro golfer is not a wasp and the top rapper is white.

[warrens]

9. Easily

I spent four days traveling with him writing an article, and during the 30 or so speeches I saw, a good chunk of the audience was GOP. He has very few negatives except among hard-core racists, who probably make up a third of the GOP.

BTW, I doubt highly he would consider VP, as has been speculated here. The only thing that would get him out of the Senate, which he loves, is the presidency. VP would be too dull and he would have no or little influence. Cheney is a true exception to the rule. And, of course, he's a nazi.

[Clark2008]

10. I live in Tennessee. My answer?

No.

[LA lady]

18. I live in Louisiana

There is no way he could carry this state. Sad but true.

[WI_DEM]

24. But look at how close Harold Ford came

52-48 wasn't anything to sneeze at. I think that says that alot of people are willing to consider strong African American candidates.

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. Yes, IF he waits to put his name in

Right now, it seems like the media is really pumping him up...ready to knock him down. Shades of Howard Dean.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

12. What happens

when they know that his middle name is Hussien ?

[MoonRiver]

14. Is that really his middle name?

If your answer is yes, I'd say it might be a problem. The average American just isn't that bright.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

16. I heard on

Tweety's show. Not confirmed yet.

[Subdivisions]

20. From Wikipedia:

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (born August 4, 1961) is the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois. According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, he is the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American now serving in the U.S. Senate. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still serving in the Illinois State Senate. In November 2004, he was elected to the United States Senate by a landslide in a presidential election year marked by Republican gains. Recent opinion polls identify Obama as the second most popular choice among Democratic voters for their party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

[MoonRiver]

21. This is not a plus. It just produces more fodder for the Rethugs.

:(

[ecstatic]

15. I think we'd have the highest voter turnout in ages

And when the smoke cleared (assuming Diebold was no longer an issue), we'd get a clearer picture of how far this nation has come in race relations.

The thing is, I know Obama is qualified but its sad that in this country, the main thing the media jumps on is race. BSlitzer wouldn't let that talking point go at all when it came to Ford and Obama.

[Beelzebud]

17. Unfortunately no. America is still too racist.

[NNN0LHI]

25. Yep. He could write off about half the electorate before he began

The racists I know wouldn't vote for a black man even if they were convinced he was Jesus Christ.

Don

[porphyrian]

19. Yes, he could win, but probably not in 2008. - n/t

[autorock]

22. In 2008? Probably not.

2012? Definitely.

[SaveElmer]

29. He can't run in 2012!!!

We will be busy re-electing the Democrat who wins in 2008!!! :-)

[WI_DEM]

23. Yes.

Experience is over-rated. I think the electorate in 2008 will be looking for someone who can intelligently speak about issues and assemble a strong team to address real problems facing this country. Obama has only two years in the senate but he has other experiences to compensate, plus he is somebody who can articulate the issues and speak in an intelligent way and motivate people to vote for him. I think in 2008 we will need somebody new and exciting and not the same old cast of characters. Not to say that Gore or Clark wouldn't be excellent.

The most recent polls show Obama is running a close second to Hillary for the '08 nomination and is competitve against McCain and Guiliani. I think he could win.

p.s.
I see all the posts which say "America is still racist" or even a woman can't win. But when will this country take the chance to see? Other nations have. If not now, When?

[SaveElmer]

26. Yeah I think he could...

He would have trouble in most southern states, though I think he would have appeal in Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida. He would have enormous appeal in the Northeast, I don't think his race would be an issue in the midwest or west.

He is an extremely appealing personality who I think would do quite well.

[MoonRiver]

27. It's interesting you think he would do well in Tennessee.

I'm not so sure after what happened to Ford.

[SaveElmer]

28. Ford came very close...

I'm not saying Obama would necessarily win there...but it would be very competitive!

[MoonRiver]

31. I see.

Makes sense! :hi:

[SaveElmer]

30. The last President elected from Illinois...

Had a couple terms in the state legislature and 1 term in Congress under his belt..

He did pretty well as I recall! :-)

[Greybnk48]

32. I think so. If he was our candidate, he would have my vote

But I think Al Gore has a date with destiny in this regard.

[EdwardM]

33. Yes, a dead Horse could win in 08 as a Democrat.

The Republicans have messed this country up so badly that I don't see how they could posssibly win in 08. Obama is definately a good candidate as he has been against the war from the beginning, which is the most important issue of this generation.