The opening days of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign have displayed all the promise of his candidacy, with large crowds, pulsating energy and a charismatic leading man. But the Illinois Democrat faces several serious challenges if he hopes to convert potential into a winning campaign.
The most significant hurdle will be overcoming questions about whether the first-term U.S. senator, who only three years ago was a member of the Illinois Senate, has the experience and readiness to serve as president at a time of war abroad and major unmet problems at home.
Next will be striking the balance between demands of political elites for Obama to flesh out the details of his ambitious policy agenda without disappointing the many thousands of Americans who have been drawn to him for his appeal as a fresh contrast to traditional politicians.
Ultimately, the race could hinge on his ability to overcome the power and resources of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's battle-tested operation. It is already flexing its muscles on behalf of the New York Democrat and is looking to profit from any missteps by Obama's smaller and less experienced organization.
Day 3 of the Obama campaign brought the candidate to New Hampshire, the state with the nation's first primary and a rich tradition of citizen participation in the presidential process. He ordered the "presidential pastrami" sandwich at a deli in Concord, spoke to activists in Nashua and ended with an enthusiastic rally at the University of New Hampshire.
Along the way, he "absolutely apologized" for saying Sunday the lives of U.S. servicemen and -women killed in Iraq had been "wasted," and he argued there are "pretty substantial" differences between his position and Clinton's on the war in Iraq, the clearest early line of demarcation between the two.
Obama said his biggest difference with Clinton involves the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. He favors pulling out all combat troops by March 31, 2008. He said Clinton "does not begin a phased redeployment." She has said she favors the start of such a redeployment but has not set a timetable.
Asked if senators who voted in favor of authorization bear some responsibility for the war in Iraq, Obama said the authorization allowed the administration to wage a war that has damaged national security. "I leave it up to those senators to make their own assessments in how they would do things differently or not," he said.
Difficulties ahead
Obama's advisers expressed general satisfaction with the initial campaign swing. Still, they do not underestimate the difficulties ahead. Asked Monday what they regard as the most significant question Obama must answer in the coming months, communications director Robert Gibbs answered without hesitation: "People want to know if he can handle this."
Their hope is that the judgment of Obama's readiness will not be reached only through the customary measures of experience on the national stage or as a governor, the route taken by most successful presidential candidates.
Obama has had little time to develop a Senate record of great significance. His advisers count on the public to use a broader definition of readiness, one that they hope will prize the candidate's unusual biography as a community organizer and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago as much as his record in the state Senate.
Obama raised the issue of his policy agenda during a news conference in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, chiding reporters for concentrating more on how he looks in a swimsuit than on what he has said about health care or energy or ending the Iraq war.
Still, a speech to the Democratic National Committee, in which he seemed to dismiss the significance of policy white papers, has rippled through party circles as a sign that he believes other characteristics carry more weight with voters than coming off as a policy wonk.
Obama's advisers say his comment at the DNC was misunderstood, that it was a rhetorical way of saying leadership is needed more than new ideas to break the stalemate in Washington on domestic and international issues, and that he possesses that kind of leadership. He will talk at length about policy, they say, but as Gibbs put it: "I don't think you veer out of your way to all of a sudden make him this superman of white papers."
The trade-off of delving too deeply into the details of policy was evident at Obama's Cedar Rapids town hall meeting on Saturday. The energy drained out of the room quickly as the candidate responded to questions about himself and his views.
Part of the blame, campaign advisers say, fell on the meeting's moderator, but some in the audience said they had not seen enough of the inspirational leader they had first glimpsed in 2004 at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. They pointed to Obama's speeches elsewhere, particularly in Chicago on Sunday night, in which the candidate exhorted an audience in his adopted home town to use his campaign as the vehicle for a national movement to change the politics of the country.
At this point, Obama will be compared with Clinton in almost everything he does, from the level of his performance on the campaign trail to the effectiveness of his operation in building organizations in the early states and his ability to raise money in amounts large and small.
The campaigns are in fierce competition for activists, organizing talent, endorsements and money. Clinton's weekend trip to New Hampshire included public and private events that touched most parts of the state and many of its political elite. Obama's venture Monday was far more limited, and he said repeatedly that he will be back often. How well he wears over time will be the ultimate test.
