Posted on 12/18/2006 12:55:03 AM PST by Zakeet
Just about everybody seems convinced that Sen. Barack Obama is going to run for president. The Chicago Sun-Times, his hometown paper, is writing as if his candidacy is an established fact.
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Time out. Let's look at the 1 in 5 chance that even his own advisers say he won't run.
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Left unspoken is the big reason why so many Democrats are swooning over the newcomer. It's the nagging belief that the country isn't ready to elect Hillary Clinton. "If she is the nominee, voters will be asked to select another Clinton, after having had a Bush in the White House, preceded by a Clinton, preceded by the first President Bush," one Democratic consultant observes. "Against her, most Republicans would look like a fresh face and with less baggage."
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Only for so long will Mr. Obama's sparkling personality help him avoid troubling questions out his ideological record. The fact that he originally opposed the war in Iraq would help him with primary voters, but it's unclear how many Democrats want to plump for someone who, according to National Journal, has a more liberal voting record than Hillary Clinton. Last year Mr. Obama had a perfect 100% voting record from both the Americans for Democratic Action and the AFL-CIO.
His record as a state legislator is even more liberal. In 1996, he spoke out against the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Senate approved 85-14 and Mr. Clinton signed into law. He twice voted "present" on a bill to ban partial-birth abortions came up. In 1999 he was the only state senator to oppose a law that prohibited early prison release for sex offenders. Is anyone naive enough to believe Mrs. Clinton wouldn't use those positions as evidence that he couldn't win?
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
"Democrats want to plump for someone who, according to National Journal, has a more liberal voting record than Hillary Clinton."
I don't know why they just don't change the name of their party to Libocrats.
Did you arrive at that conclusion because the GOP plans on running Bob Dole again?
" The R's need to find a candidate quick."
I'd rather take our time and find the right one. Two years is a long time.
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