Thank You, Barack Obama!

Regardless of your political preference a show of gratitude at this time to Barack Obama seems appropriate.

Consider these typical editorial comments from New York Newspapers from July and October of 2007...

"Barack Obama's entry into the presidential race is working out just fine for Hillary Clinton.Since he unexpectedly stepped forward to run late last year, Illinois' junior senator has helped curtail John Edwards' early momentum, starved the other six Democratic candidates of badly-needed oxygen, and kept Al Gore at bay - each a significant boon to Mrs. Clinton's efforts.At the same time, Mr. Obama himself has proven an underwhelming candidate (except in the fund-raising department), one who has thus far failed to develop and articulate a specific message that might stem the stubborn gap - in national polls and key early states - that separates his second-place candidacy from the front-running former First Lady.Indeed, while the Republican race is unusually unsettled and cluttered at the top, the Democratic nominating contest, six months from the first caucus, has a rather definite shape: Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama seem to be the only two candidates with realistic shots at the nomination, and Mrs. Clinton much more so than Mr. Obama. Hillary now enjoys commanding leads in two of the first four primary and caucus states: Nevada and New Hampshire, where polls consistently show her 15 to 20 points ahead of Mr. Obama, her nearest challenger. Data from South Carolina has not been quite as consistent, but Hillary leads Mr. Obama in most surveys there as well, and she's even supplanted Mr. Edwards, the long-time Iowa front-runner, in several recent polls there.The Democratic nominating contest will play out in two waves early next year: A two-week series of stand-alone contests (Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, in that order), followed by the almost certainly decisive "Tsunami Tuesday" in early February, when about two dozen states will hold primaries and caucuses. (There may end up being a fifth stand-alone contest in Florida, another state where Mrs. Clinton holds a lop-sided polling advantage.)From a practical standpoint, this means that if any candidate is to overtake Hillary, that candidate will need to win at least two of those early contests, three maybe, in order to generate the momentum required to defuse Mrs. Clinton's inevitability in the "Tsunami Tuesday" states."
So Far, Obama Has Been Good For Hillary, New York Observer, July 12, 2007, Josh Benson


"It is inevitable, apparently, that Hillary Clinton will become the Democratic presidential candidate. And it is inevitable, some go on to say, that Mrs. Clinton will therefore become president.It is not just dyed-in the-wool Democrats who say such things. It is President Bush's view, too, that a Clinton candidacy is an inevitability, though party loyalty ensures that he cannot bring himself to say that it is inevitable she will win the White House. He says, as well he might, he thinks the Republican candidate also stands a chance. And it is not just politicians and pundits who say Mrs. Clinton's accession is inevitable. All the polling and other evidence, both national and local, suggests that Mrs. Clinton is a shoo-in..."
The Inevitable?, The New York Sun, October 10, 2007 Wednesday, OPINION; Pg. 8, NICHOLAS WAPSHOTT

Thanks to the incredible campaign of Barack Obama, the air of inevitability has vanished and Senator Clinton is now fighting for her political life. It is a remarkable political story, and one that is very good for America.

The Clinton fatigue across the nation spreads deep into both parties. Even Ted Kennedy, the most liberal and established Senator in the nation has endorsed Obama. That really is remarkable.

Clinton is down, and the momentum is rolling against her, and let's hope it continues.

Thank you Senator Obama for leading the fight. The country can not afford another Clinton presidency.