This is probably the question hounding the minds of both the
Clinton and McCain campaigns at this very moment. Since Super Tuesday (February 5), Senator Barack Obama has been on a winning streak. He has won primaries and caucuses in 10 states. In each of the 10 states, he had significant margins of victory over Senator Hillary Clinton.
He has become the darling of the US media and the press and his recent victories showed that he has been winning votes from groups that used to be firmly in the Clinton camp, specifically white men, white women, blue collar workers, and Latino voters.
Both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain have been attacking Mr. Obama for his lack of experience in political, economic, and international affairs. There is some truth to the criticism because listening to Mr. Obama's speeches, one clearly notes that the speeches lack specifics on how he plans to deal with the nation's many problems. Mrs. Clinton's campaign staff has even accused Mr. Obama lately of plagiarizing the speech of a friend, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.
Battling Mr. Obama won't be easy. It is undeniable that he has the charisma and can connect to voters on the stump. In my humble opinion, I think he is much better than Mrs. Clinton when speaking to crowds. In that environment, he appears more relaxed and thus comes across as more genuine.
His opponents could force him to get into specifics on how he plans to fulfill his campaign promises. Voters do need to hear specifics from Mr. Obama. He needs to give the voters specific ideas on how he would address the projected shortfall in social security funds for retirees. He needs to tell voters how he plans to fund his proposed health care program for every American. He needs to tell voters on how he plans to deal with the domestic and foreign consequences of a total US pullout from Iraq.
His opponents could also attack his lack of notable accomplishments and experience in the US Senate and challenge him to a series of debates where they could force him to field tough questions.
Though it may seem that things are currently going Mr. Obama's way, it's still too early to tell if such luck would hold. We still have eight months until the Presidential elections in November and in politics, that is an eternity. It must also be noted that all of the votes Mr. Obama has won have come from Democratic primaries and caucuses. We still don't know how he would fare in a general election. Anything could still happen and voters could be quite a fickle lot. A promise to vote for a candidate today could all change once the voter is by his/her lonesome in the voting booth.
It also remains to be seen how he will perform in debates against tough and experienced opponents like Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain especially when hard domestic and international issues are presented before him. Difficult days still lie ahead.
