Polls Give Obama Another Good Week

Barack Obama ends the week on another high note. The Illinois senator, who has been barnstorming the country, is now about a dozen points behind Hillary Clinton among Democrats for their party's presidential nomination, a gain from a few weeks ago. Not a bad showing for a newcomer. The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has Clinton supported by 40 percent of Democrats, Obama by 28 per cent, and John Edwards by 15.

"The presidental election is the most personal of all political transactions, and on a personal level, Obama is an enormously gifted human being," says a Democratic strategist who has not taken sides as yet. "At his events, people want to be with him, talk to him. He has tapped into something very powerful. The American people want to turn a page and have a fresh start, and that's Obama's theme."

Democratic insiders say Obama's popularity suggests that the appeal of being the first serious African American candidate for president is at least as powerful -- and maybe more powerful -- than the appeal of being the first serious woman contender.

By Kenneth T. Walsh