I'll be honest, I think he is charismatic and will eventually have a good shot at the presidency. That being said, I don't know that a minority with the name Barack Obama will be electable until he becomes very mainstream. I don't think 2008 gives him enough time

I agree that 2008 may be too soon, but I think his name actually works to his favor. Besides the "Osama" whinging (which isn't going to stop anyone from voting for him) the name is memorable and not hard to pronounce *cough*Blagojevich*cough*

I think you're giving Americans too much credit. If he continues to talk about running, we'll see some polling, and I think that'll be interesting. However, I also think there is a disparity, especially with minority candidates, between what a person will say to a person on the phone, and what lever they'll pull at the ballot box.

He won't make it for 2008. 2012 maybe. It's his first term as a senator. He needs more time to do amazing things in the senate and get some concrete behind his reputation.
I have that issue of TIME and I need to go read the article, I didn't get to it yet.

do i think Mr. Obama should be the next president? Well, yeah, I mean, I haven't seen anyone else who I would vote for.

do i think Mr. Obama will be the next president? No, no, not at all. Look at his name. Obama...sounds like....osama, and people will think that. People who haven't seen him will think he is arab, and probably won't vote in a president with an arab sounding name. This has nothing to do with his race, religion, positions, etc. His name sounds arab. He won't be president. If he is, then I'll buy you all milkshakes.

I'm sure there are some people who wouldnt vote for him because it sounded arab, but moreso I think its just because it sounds ethnic.

I think those people would never have voted for him anyway. I think there are probably 51% of people who WOULD vote for him, but it certainly depends on voter apathy, campaign, etc.

Shiner, I think you're exactly right here. I got to meet Obama during the primary campaign, and was totally blown away. I seriously did not expect to like/respect him; I'm a bit jaded when it comes to politicans as it seems that Illinois has had more than its fair share of corrupt politicians, (George Ryan anyone?) so the fact that most residents of this state trust him is amazing. I'd like to see him spend a full term in the Senate before he runs for a higher office. That said, I'd probably vote for him in 2008 if he does run. Do I think he's electable? Probably not in 2008. He's a relative newcomer to the national stage, and some people might think he's a little young for national office (I think he just turned 45). I think if the Republicans take the White House in 2008 Obama would be a solid choice for 2012.

Its not gonna happen, because Mitt Romney will get reelected in 2012. But yeah, he is charismatic, too bad he doesn't have good political leanings to go along with it.

Drole, I think you're incredibly unrealistic. The idea that an ethnic name would only affect voting from conservatives is ridiculous. I don't think people understand how much of an obstacle something like that can be.

Perhaps, I'm just going by the State of Illinois. To be fair he was running against an out of stater, but there were no issues with his name, not in Chicago or Central or Southern. As blue as the state leans because of Cook County and the surrounding area, it's a good mix. Maybe this doesn't reflect the Georgians or Texans or New Hampshirites... but i'm going on experience.

Besides, IL voters are jaded as hell...and even we like him. (I'm voting third party for governor because I just don't care about Blago or Topinka anymore... they both suck)

And something like that can be overcome with time and exposure. National campaigns are just an entirely different ballgame from statewide, especially when that state is one like Illinois.

Wait, Mitt Romney reelected for what?

Slight hijack...Do you think Romney's religion (Latter Day Saint) will hurt his chances at national office? Personally, I like what's he done to balance the budget in Massachusetts, and some of his educational reform ideas. I'd give serious thought to voting for him.

Yeah, it will hurt, but it'll depend on how its presented in the campaign. Thankfully for Romney, it hurts most among evangelicals, and I think they'll be swayed by his conservative nature.

No one thought that they'd ever elect a Catholic president...but it happened.