Robed Obama picture brings Democrat race to boiling point February 26, 2008

By Nathan Hughes 

The fierce debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is threatening to boil over following the release of a new picture showing Mr Obama wearing traditional Somali dress during a visit to Kenya in 2006.

Obama’s campaign team claim that the picture sent to the Drudge Report website was circulated by Mrs Clinton’s staff but her team denied they had sanctioned its release.  The row comes less than a week before the two go head to head in Primary Elections in Texas and Ohio, which could ultimately decide who runs for the White House.

Mr Obama,whose father came from Kenya is shown in the photograph wearing a white turban and a white robe presented to him by elders in the north-east of the country.  The Drudge Report said the image had been circulated by “Clinton staffers” as a smear.

Addressing the issue in an interview with a Texas radio station, Obama said “I think the American people are saddened when they see these kind of politics”.

Supporters of Mrs Clinton have in the past suggested that certain aspects of the Illinois Senator’s past may not appeal to America’s mainstream voters.  Last year, a campaign worker was dismissed for circulating an e-mail wrongly suggesting that Obama was a Muslim.

In the past week, tempers have frayed between the two rivals, with the former first lady attacking Obama for his lack of foreign policy experience.  She has also accused him of plagiarism, by continually using quotes from speeches made by other politicians; a claim which Mr Obama described as ‘ludicrous’.

Speaking at the George Washington University, Mrs Clinton suggested that her rival would need a “foreign policy instruction manual” to keep the country safe if elected.

Mr Obama has won 11 consecutive primaries and caucuses in recent weeks, and is now seen as the Democratic front-runner.  Some political analysts are suggesting that Clinton will need victories in both Texas and Ohio if she is to keep her alive her campaign to become the first female president. 

McCain looking chipper as Romney calls time February 19, 2008

We now know that John McCain will be the Republican nomination for November’s US Presidential election.  Of course this will not be confirmed until McCain has passed the winning post, but realistically he simply cannot be caught.

Last week, Senator Mitt Romney, McCain’s biggest threat suspended his campaign, all but handing victory to McCain.  It seemed an unusual decision to pull out, but perhaps by continuing he would have only been delaying the inevitable.  McCain was comfortably in the lead, and was unlikely to be caught.

It is now likely that Romney and his supporters will fully endorse McCain’s campaign, just like Rudolph Giuliani has since pulling out of the race last week.  The weight of support behind McCain will all but crush the campaign of the only other real candidate, Mike Huckabee.

McCain who lost out to George W Bush in 2000, is brimming with confidence, although his victory has been all but overlooked in the news by the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Things are far from over in the race to be the Democrat candidate.  As I predicted, Super Tuesday gave us no major clues as to who will run for the Presidency.  Psychologically, Hillary Clinton perhaps has the edge over Barack Obama, after taking the all important key state of California.

It would appear that their head to head battle will go right down to the wire.  Never before has an election gripped America quite like this one, and would you believe that the election itself is not until November.

Hillary cries her way to the top February 5, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s victory in New Hampshire last week left us political analysts rather red faced.  I must admit that I was one of those eating a large slice of Humble Pie after predicting a Barack Obama victory.

So why did she defy the odds to pull off, what was in the end, a rather comfortable victory?  Well, the turnout was much higher than anybody anticipated, at over 50%, showing just how much the election has gripped America.

However, I think you have to look at her last minute campaign held the night before the polls, when she was asked by a member of the audience how she was handling the pressure of running for President?  In response, Clinton was clearly emotional and shed quite a few tears.  Could America’s Iron Lady really be feeling the strain?

 Seeing an emotional side to Hillary, that many Americans thought never existed, worked strongly in her favour.  It suddenly dawned on them, that not only was she a determined and excellent politician but that she was a wife, mother and ordinary human being as well.

As a result, she swept to victory.  Obama was no doubt rattled by what happened.  He could even be accused of celebrating too early, as it looked for all the world as though Hillary was a beaten woman.  We may well look on New Hampshire as the turning point in the election.  Hillary is back, and back in style and she could yet be the 44th President.