Obama may find his newness both help and hindrance in campaign

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Jan 17 : Illinois Senator Barack Obama took the first formal step toward a 2008 Democratic presidential bid, forming an “exploratory committee’’ for a campaign in which his recent arrival on the national scene would be both an asset and a liability.

Obama, 45, who said he would make a final decision about his candidacy on February 10, is a newcomer on the national stage, with only two years of experience in the Senate.

While that means he isn’t burdened by a long voting record or hardened public attitudes about him, he is also untested in the brutal jousting of a national campaign. ``Obama is a fresh face, and a refreshing one, which is appealing to the press,’’ said Thomas Patterson, a professor of government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“Inevitably, however, the press will move out of the honeymoon period and begin taking a critical look into his personal life and political background.’’

That might invite the kind of scrutiny that New York Senator Hillary Clinton, 59, the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, has endured for 14 years on her marriage, land deals, policy recommendations and Senate record.

Most voters have formed an opinion about her, and aren’t likely to change it, said Dick Simpson, head of the political science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“Hillary’s problem is nearly half of the people or thereabouts dislike her intensely,’’ he said. “ Apart from racism, very few dislike Obama intensely.’’

Over 56% of respondents in a December Washington Post-ABC News poll said they view Clinton favourably, compared with 40% who don’t and 4% who have no opinion.

Obama drew a 44% favourable rating and only a 23% unfavorable rating. Obama’s entry into the race would make it mostly a two-person contest, with other Democratic candidates focusing on positioning themselves to step in should he or Clinton falter.

“There’ll be Hillary and not-Hillary and then there’ll be others in case Hillary or Barack Obama slip,’’ said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.