DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN
Insights into Obama

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd today wrote the most insightful and incisive piece I have read to date about Barack Obama's struggles to keep the Rev. Jeremiah Wright from casting a shadow so large and dark that it obscures all other aspects of his campaign.

Dowd is a loud, rambunctious, caustic and often hilarious liberal who can sometimes clatter too long and loud on the same notes. But she is also a serious and lifelong student of politics and politicians and has made a specialty of understanding how human frailties and strengths can influence both governance and whom we choose to govern us. And her clear-eyed look at Obama draws a near perfect portrait of how the Democratic front-runner's struggle in his war within could well determine -- and may have already determined -- the battle he is waging with Hillary Clinton and perhaps with Republican John McCain.