The road to the White House so far this year has been particularly exciting, with a Barack Obama tide the big early story.
In his article Tuesday, Clinton shows the strain Globe and Mail correspondent John Ibbitson wrote that this surge seems to be powered by the young. "Independent voters in their 20s and 30s appear to be swinging en masse to Mr. Obama, prompting speculation that generations X and Y are seizing on the Obama candidacy to break the electoral hegemony of the baby boomers," Mr. Ibbitson wrote.
Will this phenomenon carry over in the New Hampshire primary? And what's happening on the Republican side? Is Rudy Giuliani's decision to forgo the early primaries a risky strategy?
Mr. Ibbitson was online to answer your questions or respond to your comments. They appear appear at the bottom of this page.
Globe and Mail Washington correspondent John Ibbitson (Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail)
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Mr. Ibbitson has lived numerous writing lives, including those of playwright, novelist and journalist. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Masters degree in Journalism, and joined the Ottawa Citizen as a rather aged cub reporter. He worked as a reporter, columnist and Queen's Park correspondent for Southam papers until 1999, when he joined the Globe and Mail as Queen's Park columnist, subsequently serving as the paper's Washington Bureau Chief and political affairs columnist, based in Ottawa. He has since returned to Washington, where he ranges far and wide surveying the American landscape.
Outside journalism, his recent writing has focused on political analysis, with Promised Land: Inside the Mike Harris Revolution (Prentice Hall, 1997) and Loyal No More: Ontario's Struggle for a Separate Destiny (HarperCollins, 2001).
Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.
Estanislao Oziewicz, Foreign Editor, globeandmail.com: John, quite a night last night, with Ms. Clinton challenging all the doomsayers. It has spawned a raft of questions and comments, so let's get right to them.
Karl Junkin, from Toronto: Thank you, Mr. Ibbitson for taking questions on this exciting and, in certain ways, unprecedented election. In the recent past, no U.S. presidential candidate has broken the stereotypical mould of a politically seasoned, older white American male (Bob Dole, the George Bushes, Bill Clinton, John McCain - who won New Hampshire - John Kerry, Al Gore). How much impact do you think this plays into the picture? Mr. Obama is young, mixed-blood, and has not been in the political system as long as past nominees. How much would you suspect this is a part of his appeal and is his theme of change becoming stronger and more believable, to youth, in particular? Thank you.
Mr. Ibbitson: It may well be that the very thing that is propelling the Obama insurgency -- young, mixed-race, charismatic, outside-the-box -- is also what is holding him back. Conservative, even mainstream Democrats are not yet convinced that they can safely nominate him, that he can win the presidency and that he can handle it if he does win it. We also have to suspect that some, perhaps many, white voters are telling pollsters that they have no problem with a black candidate, but privately are much more reluctant to vote for one.
Michael M, from Ottawa: It seems that, on the Democrat side, this is a race between Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama now. What about eventual running mates? I think New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who has both cabinet and foreign policy experience, would be an asset to either candidate, especially Mr. Obama who appears light on that brief. Grateful for your thoughts.
Mr. Ibbitson: Michael, I'm not going to speculate on the vice president. We need to have something to write about between Super Tuesday Feb. 5 and the convention at the end of August.
Ron White, from Calgary: Mr. Ibbitson, good analysis today, sir. I feel this is the Democrats election to lose in November. Is Ms. Clinton really electable as president if she wins the nomination this August? Are the Republicans secretly pulling for her, as they feel she can be beaten?
