In a speech at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois said he has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.
"Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States," reads the speech. Associate Press has confirmed that Obama has the delegates needed to win.
With Sen. Hillary Clinton, and her sometimes raucous husband, now more or less out of the presidential picture, Sen. Barack Obama is facing the final stretch of the race with only one opponent, Sen. John McCain, neck and neck. Recent polls show Obama and McCain virtually tied and, depending on who you ask, Sen. Clinton dropping out the race could mean a bump for Obama or McCain.
In the final stretch of the race, top issues include the Iraq War, the hurting economy, vice president selection, and the China question.
Iraq War Ticket
The first sight that viewers are greeted with upon visiting McCain campaign web page is a large flight ticket to Iraq with Obama's name on it. The ticket, possibly the biggest challenge ahead that Obama faces, refers to McCain's request that Obama go to Iraq on a fact-finding mission.
"Senator Obama has been to Iraq once. A little over two years ago he went, and he has never seized the opportunity, except in a hearing, to meet with General Petraeus, with General Petraeus!" said McCain, at town hall meeting in Reno, N.V. last week.
The 71-year-old McCain, a former prisoner of war and strong supporter of the Iraq War, will assuredly continue to emphasize his experience and criticize the 46-year-old Obama, who favors more speedy troop withdrawals, for his lack of experience.
Obama declined the ticket offer: "John McCain's proposal is nothing more than a political stunt, and we don't need any more "Mission accomplished" banners or walks through Baghdad markets to know that Iraq's leaders have not made the political progress that was the stated purpose of the surge."
McCain, however, has prominently displayed on his site a Fox News piece saying former Democratic presidential candidate and strong Obama supporter Sen. John Kerry thinks Obama should go to Iraq to "get an idea of what's going on there."
Clearly the Iraq War issue isn't going away for Obama just like its not going away for the American people. As dreary as it might sound, the less improvement that Iraq shows between now and November, the better for his campaign as he paints the election of John McCain as four more years of failed war policies.
Economy Woes
If McCain's trump card is the Iraq War then Obama's is the ailing economy. With the nation spending over $500 billion on the war since it started, gas prices hitting new and painful heights, and the housing crisis facing the nation's economy, Obama has no shortage of criticism to level at McCain—especially since McCain has endorsed President George Bush's tax cuts, which he originally voted against.
Earlier this week in Michigan, where they have the highest unemployment rate in the nation and one of the worst economies, Obama drove this point home.
"For what taxpayers here in Oakland County have spent in Iraq, you could be providing healthcare for nearly 900,000 people, or offering more than 200,000 college scholarships for Michigan students, or hiring more than 30,000 elementary school teachers," said Obama.
As with the Iraq War, the worse the economy looks from now to November, the better Obama's presidential chances look.
"It seems like all Senator McCain is talking about on the campaign trail is Iraq—instead of offering real solutions to the problems you face every day," said Obama in Michigan.
VP, China, Healthcare
Other factors facing Obama in the race against McCain will be his vice presidential selection. Obama's will most likely choose a vice presidential candidate who can beef up his foreign policy credentials like Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, or Sen. Jim Webb, former Secretary of Navy under Ronald Reagan. While it uncertain whether or not Obama would offer the position to Sen. Clinton after the harshly contested campaign, Clinton has said she would be open to the suggestion.
As the 2008 Summer Olympics draws near, Obama and McCain both potentially face an opportunity to make history by taking the moral high ground and highlighting the human rights abuses of the Chinese communist regime.
Obama and McCain have both taken essentially the same line on the Olympics, saying that if the situation doesn't improve, President Bush shouldn't attend the opening ceremony. As the August 8 opening approaches, the two candidates face an opportunity to differentiate themselves and call the 2008 Summer Olympics what they are: a public relations campaign for arguably one of the worst regime's in human history.
As for healthcare, Obama and McCain are offering very different approaches with Obama offering universal coverage and McCain relying less on government intervention and more on individual choice. Whether this is good for Obama or bad will depend on how the American public reacts.
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