The Challenges Facing Obama and Clinton

[illinoisprogressive]

Zbigniew Brzezinski, a national-security adviser to President Carter, threw his support behind Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. In an interview airing this weekend on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt,” Brzezinski said, “Obama is clearly more effective and has the upper hand. He has a sense of what is historically relevant and what is needed from the United States in relationship to the world.” Brzezinski, 79 years old, dismissed the notion that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, 59, as more seasoned than Obama, 46, saying “being former first lady doesn’t prepare you to be president.”

Obama “recognizes that the challenge is a new face, a new sense of direction, a new definition of America’s role in the world,'’ Brzezinski said.

Meanwhile, a Pew Research Center poll released yesterday shows the potential challenge that would await Clinton in a general election. Clinton is viewed favorably by 55% of all voters, the lowest ranking of major Democratic candidates in the presidential race. That includes a positive rating by 19% of Republicans and 53% of independents. Yet the New York senator is viewed favorably by 88% of Democrats. Of all voters, 64% have a favorable view of Obama, while 39% of Republicans and 67% of independents have a positive opinion of him. The poll was conducted from Aug. 1 to 18 and involved telephone interviews with 3,002 adults. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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