Am I alone in feeling that chat show host wannabe Obama with his empty phrases and casual winning smile is a disaster waiting to happen.? Poor America, first Bush and now a hopeless but personable dream merchant. Why are the American public so gullible and easliy fooled? 'One can smile and smile and be a villain' or perhaps in this case just a lightweight pitching for the wrong job.It's as if he turned up for ifor the trainee Stock Controler's job and ended up being interviewed for MDs !

david, Uzes, France

NONE OF THE ABOVE!

To be in touch with American ideas, attitudes and concerns, as well as the US electorial process, is to realize that NEITHER Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will be President of the USA. The new President will most likely be a Democrat, but neither of the above candidates will succeed. You read it here first!

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA/IL

It is good that a nation behind a mass genocide in Iraq is finally rising to great heights to find some change. Though the re will always be blood on the hands of the American nation, its still better to do something to suppress those bloody elements who caused worldwide destruction and yes, the massacre of a netion...........only in the name of oil!!!
Come on Americans, its time to regain some of the lost respect...........

Dr J A Tipu, Belfast, UK, UK

Dave in Rutland, you are exactly the type of ignorant American that your country desperately needs to prove to the rest of the world it is not entirely made up of. Please please please vote Obama and once again become the greatest nation on earth.

Alastair, Somerset,

How long before some redneck southerner assasinates this guy? We may be liberal and welcoming of other races and cultures in UK and many people from ethnic minorities have made a sucess out of politics here but you will never see a black prime minister in this country. The establishment wouldn't permit it.
We have token appointments to positions in the Lords and Parliament but none of them has any power. They do not dictate policy, their views are heard, agreed with and ignored. Just imagine a black man in charge of the most powerful nation on earth!
As soon as Obama shows any sign of making the running he will be blown away by some lunatic as Martin Luther King and Malcom X were.
It doesn't matter how liberal or fair this man is there are millions of Americans who still believe the black man is a slave and has no rights in his own country. Think back, it's not that long ago that this man would have not been allowed to sit next to a white man on a bus in America!

neville ayrton, Blackpool, Lancashire

Barak Hussein Obama was born to a Muslim father and therefore is a Muslim. He is not electable in the USA presidential election yet! If Clinton does not get the nomination, the wining ticket McCain-Huckabee is almost certain.

Dave, Rutland,

I wonder at the gender of 'the Comeback Kid'. Is it Him in Her skirt? If Hill ever gets into the Oval Office, I wonder whether History will repeat itswelf as Herstory?

San Ying, Montreal, Canada QC

Oh my God! According Miss (Mrs) Frances "Clinton has been a New York senator for 7 years.." more 5 than Obama! Oh my God what a difference! Five years! Very much time in politics indeed!

The point is, Clinton can have experience. Yes, I agree with that. However If I recall Bush had it too. And look what happened.

People like Obama because he is the kind of person that the people feels they can trust. Maybe Obama can have lack of experience. And I admit he can be a little naive. But he cant be worse than Bush. Or Clinton, by the way.

Dani Major, Lisbon,

Fairness dictates that I reveal that I am an Obama supporter and volunteer. In 2004, it was Howard Dean and in 2000, I was a Mc Cain County-Co Chair.

The experience issue is a difficult one. Obama has a proven record in the Illinois Senate which has had little coverage. He was able to reach out to the GOP and get things done. Clinton has but 6+ years in elective office which is less than any other Democratic candidate save Edwards. First Ladies do not make or implement policy, hold substantial discussions with foreign leaders nor have a formal role.

Bill Clinton gave her health care to push through the Congress and it "crashed and burned". Fast forwarding reveals a blank cheque for Bush on Iraq (no WMD's), Iran (no nuclear weapons program, plus an updated "mandated" health care program that she has not explained how it would be paid for. Garnished wages, property liens, denial of care? We haven't a clue.

NH will give us a better clue as to what is next tomorrow.

Joseph W Mathews, Manchester, Vermont USA

Well, go back to the mid-90s in the UK, there was another young charismatic politician who had the right soundbites and who promised change. Whether this was the sort of change people wanted and he lived up to expectations is a moot point. But Obama has charisma in spades, and represents America's Tony Blair to Hilary Clinton's Gordon Brown. I think the Americans will take a punt on Obama

Richard, Bexhill, UK

Nick from Brighton, I agree entirely. Her claim of "35 years experience making change" is absurd. This would include her years as an attorney, wife of a governor, and wife of a president. Her husband's ridiculous claims that she has been an agent of change her entire life and that she is a "world-class genius" only serve to tarnish his reputation in my eyes, and I voted twice for Bill Clinton. The country has moved on from the divisive politics of the last 30 years. We are desperate to work together to get actually get something productive accomplished, & finally begin to address many issues of real concern to Americans and citizens of other countries. Obama is just the man to lead that cooperative effort. It's been a long time coming.

Kelly, San Francisco, CA, USA

How long does change take? A huge change on the horizon is in health care. A large reason that we are having that debate right now is the effort made by Hillary Clinton. If she had not pushed the issue, and been demonized for it, we probably wouldn't be discussing it now. So let's give a little credit where credit is due. Real change does not happen overnight. People of wealth and power work to maintain thier wealth and power. That wealth and power comes from investments made in doing things the old way: it requires stability and resists change. When you change the way things are done you also change how the people invested in those things get paid and who gets paid by virtue of changing which investments are profitable. If most of your money comes from private medical insurance, you tend to resist the idea of changing how medical insurance works. So, yes, Trying for change is valuable experience. Only youthful exuberance believes in instant change. Obama can't deliver on this promise.

John Brainard, Glenwood,

Nick - she is a New York Senator and has been for about 7 years - 5 years longer than Obama has been a Senator!

Frances, Leeds, UK

The coolest thing I noticed about Obama during the New Hampshire debates is that he's left-handed. Lefties rule.

John Carroll, Richmond, USA/Virginia

Perhaps Hillary supporters could educate me: how exactly is Hillary experienced? I keep on hearing she has experience, but apart from living in the White House for 8 years, being married to a former President and participating in failed efforts to introduce medicare legislation, what exactly is her experience?!

Hillary is the most divisive figure in both parties' primaries. Now why, after 8 years of perhaps the most divisive President ever, do you want to elect someone who could prove equally divisive? And I think this is what the Iowa Dems were thinking when they came out in support for Obama and I think this is what New Hampshire will think as well. It won't be long before you see her lead in national polls crumble.

Lastly, a refrain: it's understandable for Americans to get annoyed at outsiders views on who *should* win in America. But when the discussion centres on who would be best at repairing the image of the US, I think the world favours Obama, not Clinton.

Nick, Brighton, UK

Mrs Clinton said: "You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose."

Are not our Constitution and our Bill of Rights both documents of soaring ideals, written in prose so beautiful that they have become the poetry of hope for all peoples wishing to live free?

Hilary Clinton is a supporter of the System. She has been much more concerned with her desire to be President eventually than with the evil that has been infecting America for the last 30 years. She could have called for Impeachment, spoken against entering the Iraq war and done 100 things which would have made her unpopular. Because she didn't, she is now no longer popular. She follows the crowd. She has never led it. She will not be elected President.

victor compton, Cherbourg, France

Whilst i'm sure US politics is interesting, the state of the UK is far more pressing. When will the times start to acknowledge the need for change here in the UK? Moreover actually start to report it?

Ed, UK,

Well CNN has Obama and Clinton tied at 33%. It's worth noting that only two Iowa winners have gone on to win the presidency in the past several decades. Also, Bill Clinton won only 3% of the Iowa vote, whereas Hilliary had 30%, compared to Obama's 38% of about 130,000 farm country voters. In fact, winning Iowa is cause for concern unless a big sweep is possible. Although everyone likes Obama, a very good candidate, one cannot underestimate the absolute strength of the medical insurance lobby, big Pharma and the medical lobby. Only Hilliary has a viable workable detailed plan and strategy to actually deliver all Americans to complete medical coverage. Likewise on foreign policy, education, implementation, Hilliary is way out in front. I support Obama for VP, or for pres. in 2016 after Hilliary retires.

Emma H., Ottawa,

In my opinion, Obama bases his speeches around the best thing with American culture and that is the belief and determination for change. I think this appeals to many Americans, who believe America needs to get a new ´image´ and also to the rest of the world, who have become a bit scared of the kind of ´traditional American values´ proclaimed by Mr. Bush.

Jóna Kristin, Tórshavn, The Faroe Islands