He just doesn't get it. In a contest between a war hero, 20 odd year Senator and a guy who was a state senator a few years ago race is not the problem.

Couple this with the fact that McCain is very popular with independents suggests to me that in a general election the risks of an Obama candidacy are pretty high.

With pro-Obama blogs decrying democratic politicians who are not standing with Obama, it makes him seem like he doesn't need them.

He does not promote democratic principles, Republicans have been the party of ideas... and all that.

He seems to have peaked - anytime he's attacked he does Mr. arrogant, race, race, I'll take my toys and go home.

Clinton's baggage is front and center, what can be said about her again, she's been called a monster by someone who should know better.

Hillary, well she has been around a few blocks, her original lefty leanings, can now be satisfied.  In reading both of them, I believe, Hillary will be the one that will try to implement the critical issues:   Restoring the workings of government.  Healthcare.  Diligent foreign policy/getting out of Iraq.   I think just by who she is she will be more aggressive, and right now, we need aggressive.  I truly find that she is honestly running to get back all the things we lost during this Republican coup d'etat.  

Obama does not have the passion for getting these things, he has an aura to protect and preserve.  All the idiocy about Clinton voters being racist etc, this is what they see.  They see someone who will stand up, vs. someone who will stand back and protect his ego.  

The person who "wins" is only 1 human being.  What's next is staffing up the other 1500 or so positions in the West Wing.  Plus all the agencies, departments, extended patronage ... it would realistically take Obama halfway to the first midterm election to start putting everything in place.

While Obama has successfully poached a lot of the top tier Clinton team from 1993-2000, he hasn't come close to getting all that he'd need.  And his next-best available pool is the people he worked with and around in Chicago, as a state senator.  In short, the team isn't tested -- other than the several who have prominently self-destructed in the media recently.

With Clinton, you've got a gene pool of talent at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than anything Obama can produce ... "on Day One".  (You know what the first Clinton 3am phone call was?  Waco, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians.  Let's see some Kumbaya chanter deal with Texas fundie crazies with guns.)

But, with Hillary, in addition to the good Clinton-1 people who could essentially swing right into their old staff positions, you've also got the gene pool talent of New York State.  In Hillary's first 6-year term, she got to interview a lot of people who could be a worthy addition to a Presidential staff.  Obama never had time to do the same because, as soon as he got to Washington, he decided to double-up (and shoot for the Presidency).  In short, the important part of actually putting together a government relies on a lot of unknowns.

A final factor -- maybe Obama has succeeded in "uniting" a bunch of progressive blogs, but I'm college-educated, white, above-average income ... which "should" be BO's demographic ... and all I see is a rather sad Willy Loman character.  At the end of the day, all I see is a bunch of warmed-over policy statements where Obama's minions have tried to convince the world they'd be as good as the originals (that they copied).

For the first time since I voted for George McGovern in 1972, I am facing an autumn prospect of not having an acceptable candidate to vote for.  I will not vote for a Republican.  I will not vote for an idiot, like Nader.  And I will not vote for a Democratic candidate I consider worse-flawed than Michael Dukakis.  We can do better!

As has been noted, Obama supporters may be drawn more to the candidate than the party.  If he loses the primary, then they're less likely to turn out for the GE than if he wins the nomination.

To put this in cliched sports terms.  I see Hillary as the seasoned veteran who is reliable.  She can't really put the team on her shoulders and carry them but you know what you can get out of her.  Obama is the young star who is both capable of carrying the entire team when he's on but also crippling the team with a bad performance.

Obama represents a potential sea change in the political landscape of America.  He could usher in 20 years of Democratic control of Washington, much as Reagan and FDR did.  Yes he poses greater risk but, IMO, it is worth it.  

Don't care who is on top.

Hillary has unfair baggage. And the primary seems to have added to the unfair baggage (and some fair criticism too).

That is unfortunate and unfair. I am not sure if that dynamic can be changed. O

If we lose this election, we may enable the Republicans to get out of their box as the party of extreme ideas.  I beleive that Obama is sincere about his post partisan approach to the GE.  His running as a reformer/game changer is running into McCain's strengths.  McCain and the RNC may be able to define Obama as out of the American mainstream.  They are already starting.

His efforts on behalf of party unity so far have been underwhelming.  It seems that he is willing to trade the loyal base for independents and republicans.  This is worrisome.

Our strongest ticket would be Clinton/Obama.  It would be much easier for Clinton to reach out to Obama as her supporters generally have a favorable impression of him.  Obama/Clinton could work but the animosity of the Obama campaign and supporters against Clinton (and his GE themes) make this hard to see.  I still don't see what Obama can do to unite the party.  Without a united party we will lose in November.

But when it comes to getting stuff done, the key is the legislative picture. If the Democrats do not have a strong senate majority, and a stronger house majority than today, most of the good ideas of Clinton and Obama won't have a chance.

Thus the issue of coattails, and who is in the best position to help destroy the remnants of the Republican party in the northeast, secure nascent Democratic majorities in the west, and keep the midwest and upper south competitive.

When it started out last fall I thought that Clinton and Obama would draw the same rightie hate-squad out to vote in the GE, albeit for different reasons, so it was pretty much a draw. But that assumed a nomination that was settled in February with a reasonably unified Dem party. It also assumed an opponent other than John McCain, who I had kicked to the curb and left for dead.

Head-to-head polls against McCain are essentially a draw right now.

Daily Kos during Dean and Clark Days was never like this.  It was still a bastion of intelligent talk ad conversation  even between Clark and Dean supporters-- now it is like Free Republic or yahoo message boards with all the trolls.

I mean are these real people or trolls who aim to destroy the Kos community.