Here is an article from an extended interview with Obama. I am a supporter of his, and his supporters will like it, but I also think he comes across well in an objective sense. The contrasts with Clinton are clear, and reflect well on him in my opinion. I know people will differ, but hey, this is politics.
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" Obama argued that the success of his own presidential campaign, "where I went from zero, starting from scratch, to compete with a legendary political organization 20 years in the making, built by a former president ... is not an accident."
"It shows my capacity to put together a team and point it in a direction that I think is important," Obama said, adding he has illustrated "the skill sets that are required to move the country."
...snip...
Obama, appearing relaxed and engaged in an hourlong session with Chronicle editors and reporters, insisted that in areas ranging from foreign policy outlook to management style, he has superior credentials, and he depicted Clinton as an occasionally hesitant politician who parses and weighs positions.
"That's part of the reason why I think we have been getting people who are turned off to politics attracted to my campaign ... they sense that I don't try to trim my sails," he said. "If I'm asked in a debate what my biggest weaknesses are, I don't answer by saying, 'I'm just too passionate about poor people,' " he said, laughing. "Or, that I'm too impatient to solve the problems of America. I say, 'Well, you know, my desk is messy - so I need somebody around me.' "
...snip...
On the issue of race, Obama also said key differences in outlook and experience define the two campaigns.
"I actually don't think that the comment that Sen. Clinton made about Dr. King was a racial comment," he said, referring to a recent flareup in which she noted that President Lyndon Johnson had pushed the 1964 Civil Rights Act through Congress, a comment that some African American leaders took as downplaying contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King.
"I think it was illustrative of how she thinks change happens," he said. "She was arguing that Lyndon Johnson, his skill set was what was critical to getting the Civil Rights Act done - as opposed to a movement on the streets. And that indicates a difference in emphasis on how change occurs. But I don't think the comments were racial."
...snip...
"This caucus process was designed by the Democratic Party of Nevada in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee," said Obama. "I, as somebody who's not part of the establishment of the Democratic Party, had no say in the rules ... (but) individuals like Harold Ickes, Clinton's key adviser, were a part of making these rules. And some of the people who filed the lawsuit were a part of making these rules.
"President Clinton now suggests they didn't understand the rules that they designed," Obama said. "This is coming from the campaign of extraordinary detail and thoroughness and experience.
"But somehow, they didn't know what these rules were," Obama said. "Six days before the caucus - two days after I received the endorsement of the Culinary Workers (Union), suddenly these rules are grossly unfair and a violation of 'one person, one vote.' And a lawsuit is filed that would disenfranchise mostly Latino maids, dishwashers and bellhops."
Obama said that was "an implausible argument before the court rules. I am glad the court bought none of it. I think it took about an hour for the court to decide that this lawsuit had no merit.
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