My apologies regarding the feigned excitement about Senator Barack Obama in the headline. It's just that all the other media people are doing it and I thought I'd follow the crowd by interjecting an exclamation point. Barack Obama announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee on Tuesday. Five thoughts on Barack Obama running for president:

Barack Obama opposes the Iraq war. Hillary Clinton supports the Iraq war. This issue is important to Democratic primary voters. The vast majority of these voters swing toward Obama's position. That's bad news for Hillary.

Though Obama will have served just four years in congress if elected president, his congressional experience will have been two years longer than the last man from Illinois elected president.

Sure, Barack Obama would be the first black president if elected. But he'd also capture from Richard Nixon the most Western birthplace of any president (Obama was born in Honolulu). From Dwight Eisenhower, President Barack Hussein Obama would capture the title of "least WASPish name" for a president.

Barack Obama scores an (im?)perfect 100 rating on the Americans for Democratic Action's voting record. His lifetime American Conservative Union rating is a nine.

Barack Obama hails, as does Hillary Clinton, from one of the nineteen "blue states" of 2004. Since 1952, Democratic nominees hailing from 2004 blue states are 1-6. Democratic nominees hailing from 2004 red states are 4-3. In other words, what makes Democrats feel good in the spring of election years often makes them feel bad in the fall. Might this abysmal record of blue-state nominees influence thinking Democrats into supporting John Edwards or Al Gore?

Obama is a far left liberal, despite his rhetoric. Once moderate Dems see this, I think Obama's star will fade a bit. Edwards, same problem. Unless the Dems have as many mindless robots as the Republicans. Then, all bets are off.

There's a stretch: "thinking Democrats".

It's all about "hope" and "caring" and "reaching out" and mostly about the "feelings", isn't it?

Wow yeah.

Don't bet on geography saving you THUGS from the raping you'll get in 08.

Doesn't really matter, does it? All of these guys are using the war to mask the invasion from the south while selling out our country to the highest (or cheapest?) bidder. In twenty years, the U.S. will be a third world country and we'll all be speaking Mandarin.

Oh right I forgot that "invasion" that a whopping 10% of people in this country actually care about.

Randy Graff LOST.

He LOST!

In a Republican leaning border district to a pro-immigration woman Democrat.

NO ONE CARES ABOUT IMMIGRATION!!

That's right. Nobody does care about immigration. But they do care about ILLEGAL immigration and any residual fallout from the great Bushwhacking won't change that.

And here I thought HeHe had moved on to greener pastures. Welcome back "Rethug."

Don't invoke the name of the thing that should not be.

Hey, I'll bet Obama will solve this Global Warming problem we should all be worried about.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Chumps.

Wouldn't you think the thugs at the Republican PArty would become a little more gay friendly after having thier butts pounded in 2006?

Don't think I'd be using the terms "gay friendly" and "butts pounded" in the same sentence.

This Global Warming thing is killing me. I'm sitting here wearing long undwear, a turtle neck, four sweaters, a heavy coat, a hunting hat with face shield, gloves, two pairs of socks and insulated boots. And I'm hot as hell!!!!!

I need Al Gore to tell me to take some of these clothes off.