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Barack Obama’s presidential bid, viewed as little more than a freshman senator’s pipe dream just a year ago, is beginning to assume the air of inevitability.
Unless the pollsters suffer another New Hampshire-style meltdown, it appears the lawmaker from Illinois will emerge from today’s so-called Potomac Primary (Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia) stronger than ever.
And Hillary Clinton’s decision earlier in the week to dump her campaign manager indicates its panic time in that camp.
State Sen. Fred Berry, D-Peabody, a Clinton supporter, noted last weekend that Obama appeared to have made the leap from contender to political phenomenon.
Indeed, Sen. Clinton might be running our of firewalls. Veteran Democratic strategist Mike Goldman of Marblehead sees the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries as critical to her survival. A loss in either place could finish her.
An Associated Press poll released this morning showed Obama leading likely Republican nominee John McCain by six points nationally. (McCain vs. Clinton was a dead heat.)
People apparently want change, even if they have no idea where it might take them.