Casey - in my observations, Barack is a wise and intellegent person - something we haven't seen in a Presidential candidate since... what... Truman?   This is based on his whole life's experiences, as told in his two books, as well as his time in the Ill legislature as well as the American Senate. 

Hillary has put in a few more years in the Senate, but what has that experience given her?  What has she accomplished in the Senate?  I've studied her voting record and the most amazing thing about it is how she sides with the Republicans on most issues.  Her blind faith and loyalty to Bush is amazing!  Why, she must really be a patriot!  That, or... you know, not a very wise person. 

I hear a lot about "experience" - makes me think of this - ever had a job where there was a person there who had been there forever, and had risen up in the company just on the basis of the fact that they had been there forever?  They didn't really have any talents, aside from fitting in with the management form.  That's how I see Hillary.  Sure, sure, she was the wife of a President and was allowed to go and visit foreign nations, but... when JB misses a deadline, I don't want to see Andrea Braun fill in on FF. 

People complain a lot about Barack inspiring people - that he's a good talker, but what has he done?  As if people are only inspried by his speaches - that's missing the point - speaking for myself, I'm inspired by his whole life.  Everything that guy has done has put him on the path to what I truly believe he will become - a great leader - not just a President - a LEADER.  I like that he wants to work with all people, not just Democrats; as opposed to Hillary, who talks about the "vast right wing conspiracy", yet sides with Bush on every issue.  His actions scream: LEADER.  Hers scream: CHEAP POLITICIAN talking out of both sides of her mouth.

It's hard to deny that culturally, we are regressing - the Mike Judge film Idiocracy is less funny each time I watch it, as I'm seeing it come to life before my eyes.  Barack is like an antidote to that - an intellegent, thoughtful, wise person who wants to do the right thing for the right reasons?  Holy cow - I thought that sort of thing didn't exist anymore, except in fiction - he's like a cross between Superman and Agent Cooper! 

Barack Obama has a whole life time of experience. 

I agree that "Experience" only counts if it shows that you've learned and grown from that experience.  The basic attributes I look for in a candidate is intelligence, rationality, curiosity, knowledge on the issues, eloquence and credibility. Though all of these attributes should be present, credibility is the most important. I want to know that I can trust the candidate I vote for to seek the goals he says he does, and to adapt to circumstances in a way that does not violate the spirit of what he has promised to achieve.

I think Obama talks a good game, but he's shaky on strategy and he doesn't have much history to show to. But the bottom line is I trust his ability to quickly compensate for his shortcomings more than I trust Hilary's ability to do the same.

Then again, I'm not voting in this election, so...

Mike O'Brien:

Her blind faith and loyalty to Bush is amazing!  Why, she must really be a patriot!  That, or... you know, not a very wise person. 

OK, Obama is not Hillary.Point in his favor.

So it looks like this is the third election in a row that Democrats are basing their vote on opposition to George Bush, more than support for their own candidate...and the guy's not even running this time!

 Barack is like an antidote to that - an intellegent, thoughtful, wise person who wants to do the right thing for the right reasons?

Holy cow - I thought that sort of thing didn't exist anymore, except in fiction - he's like a cross between Superman and Agent Cooper! 

It just seems like a lot of the praise of Obama lacks a lot of specifics, simply because he hasn't been around long enough to have a lot of accomplishments to point to. As a result, we get a lot of fawning praise of just about everything else about him...'He's so well-spoken'(I thought it was taboo to make an issue of that in the context of African-American candidates?) 'He stands for REAL CHANGE!'(What, besides 'getting out of stoopid ol' Iraq ASAP' does he really stand for? Has he acknowledged any issues other than that yet?)

Sorry, but so far, I'm not impressed. There seems to be too much needless adulation and  'Kool Aid drinking' among Obama's supporters. Either that, or plain old 'guilt' that it took this long for a black candidate not named Jesse Jackson to come along.

The problem with both McCain and Clinton against Obama is that they have (partly due to how long they've been in the game) made some crippling compromises and taken some big hits on the policies they've accepted or supported. Obama may not have as much formal experience, but he hasn't compromised himself in the same way either (partly, again, due to not having been in the game long).

I would like to know more about his policies, but the press over here is wrapped up in the glam, so we don't get much of that intense political scrutiny we'd expect (though not always get) in our own elections.

I understand this whole reaction about someone in the press describing him as "articulate" , but I don't see it as a racist "Obama is more articulate than you'd expect from a Black man" but as "Obama is more articulate than the other candidates".

But even if he's promised very little in terms of policies, I don't see that as being a point in favor of either Clinton or McCain. I'm not convinced that their lists of policies and their promises will last past election day. It's a matter of trust.

For those who'd like a little more info on Hillary Clinton and her "experience" and what she "accomplished" as First Lady, here are two articles to read:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/9/111930/6389/50/47 2849

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03 /08/wuspols108.xml

Both of those are extremely enlightening.

Bob, in fact, he's touched on all sorts of issues.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

It's kind of an embarassing thing to suggest - that he's not.  It took me less than a minute to find that. 

Sounds like pretty much what any other candidate is saying. It sounds good on paper, but how is it going to get implemented? I seem to recall Bill Clinton promising universal healthcare before 1992....I'm still waiting.

Casey