Unstoppable Obama

With eight straight primary victories against Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama has caught the wind on his sail for good. There is no stopping him now as he surges ahead of his rival in what started out as a keenly-contested race.

Analysts are attributing many factors to Obama’s success – more money, more grassroots support, more sophisticated use of the Web, more this, more that.

They are, however, missing the most important factor: Obama has captured the imagination of Americans like no presidential aspirants in recent memory. Neither Ronald Reagan nor Bill Clinton comes close. The only apt comparison is with John F. Kennedy and his mythical, magical evocation of a new frontier.

It is now beyond Hillary Clinton to overcome Obama’s x-factor advantage. Hillary Clinton represents variations on the theme of "what is" but Obama represents a bold and new version of "what is possible." And as the poet Robert Frost may have said, that has made all the difference.