y money is on Obama too. If there's something about Obama that makes you (well, me anyway!) feel that this person is going to be a statesman. If he wins in 2008, great! If not, then, he'll still be young to run in 2012 or 2016. This is his momemt, and I am glad that he has seized this. Meantime, I recommend his book "The Audacity of Hope" to you all. oohi ashu *************** From historian Niall Ferguson: 1958 and today's GOP Voters booted Republicans from Congress during Eisenhower's second term. Could we see a repeat this year? An extract: "What's more, as happened in 1958, the combination of foreign policy setbacks and economic disappointments could set the stage not merely for Democratic gains at the midterms but for a Democratic victory in the presidential election two years down the line. Intriguingly, there is already a John F. Kennedy figure on the scene who, he recently admitted, has "thought about the possibility" of a bid for the White House. Youthful, charismatic and the personification of the American dream, Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has been this autumn's media sensation, his face on every talk show, his name in every column, his book rivaling Woodward's in the charts. You think the U.S. is not ready for a black president? Well, back in 1958 you'd probably have said the same about an Irish Catholic." - http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ferguson30oct30,1,2434224.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail