Rossputin.com Rational Thinking About Our World

PUBLISHED in the Washington Times, 4/25/07
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070424-102821-6753r_page2.htm

re "Polls see Obama gaining as Hillary appears waning" (Washington Times, 4/22/07)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20070422-124714-2122r.htm

To the Editor:

While, it is not surprising to see Senator Hillary Clinton’s negatives increase at this point in the campaign, much of Senator Barack Obama’s current popularity is due to little more than his being a fresh face.

Many people dislike Senator Clinton because they feel like they know her; they have been exposed to her policies and her personality for years and dislike one or both. Many like Senator Obama, but how many of them really know anything about his policy positions, or very much about his personality?

Clinton’s campaign will not continue to let Obama glide through without ever having to specify real policy positions on real issues, and when those debates (whether direct or indirect) come along, Obama’s lack of intellectual heft and political experience will come home to roost. Obama is peaking too early, but it could not be any other way. Once his views become more well known, Obama will become the next Howard Dean: Very popular with the left wing of the Democratic Party but fairly obviously not electable in the general election. Despite recent polls showing her not “wearing well”, Hillary Clinton is still most likely to be the Democrats’ nominee.