Obama leading Mccain by over 21 points,

until obama becomes president i will be into politics, then i will retire, those of you that think politics does not matter are living in la la land, the biggest change that will happen in this world will happen through Barack Obama becoming president of the usa, such as the ending of the war, the shuttting of guatanamo bay, the use of renewable energies, the involvment of the people in running america, so i hope you all understand why i keep bringing you all this news, one or two people on this site want to look away from the facts and keep you in hoplessness and depression.,if you want to see that the world is changing then look what obama is doing against all hopes.

Obama parried this during the primary by expressing revulsion at the peddlers of hate and the merchants of slime, appealing instead to the better instincts of Americans. His message could resonate even more powerfully during the general election campaign as backlash against the Bush-Cheney years of terrify-and-rule. Should McCain surrogates resort to the fear-and-smear tactics, Obama can charge McCain with being either a hypocrite in claiming to run a civil and respectful campaign, or else ineffectual in controlling his campaign and therefore unfit to be president.

Unlike Obama, McCain's skeletons, including support and endorsements from fiery white priests and pastors, have not been subjected to the same fierce public and media scrutiny. Already several people have left McCain's camp owing to previous lobbying activities or connections. The Democrats have learned from the John Kerry experience that not responding swiftly to Swiftboating attacks can cause irreversible political damage.

McCain is weighed down by the millstones of an unpopular president and war and a tanking economy. The answer to the litmus test for incumbent administrations made famous by Ronald Reagan--are you better off today?--is a resounding, "Hell, no."

Not just the disaster, but its magnitude, is impossible to conceal. Big budget surpluses have turned into big debt; a nation that was at peace is fighting two nightmarish wars and could be plunged into a third; denial of climate change has put the planet in peril; stable energy prices have given way to skyrocketing prices at the gas pump; real household incomes have shrunk amid an economic expansion; and a United States at the pinnacle of global power and respect is held in nearly universal contempt and disrespect. Little wonder that pessimism prevails and people yearn for change.

President George W. Bush's disapproval rating (almost 70 percent) is the highest since Gallup began polling 70 years ago, higher even than Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter during the Vietnam War, Watergate and the Iran hostage crisis, respectively. More than 80 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction: hence the appeal of a candidate of change. Iraq, to which McCain is cleaved like a conjoined twin, is viewed as a mistake by 63 percent.

McCain already trails Obama by significant margins. The initial party sympathy has blown out from a 47-44 margin in favor of Democrats in 2004 (the last presidential election) to 51-38 today. A trio of recent Congressional losses in long-held "safe" seats has set off alarm bells among Republicans about their prospects in November.

Overall, Democrats have a 21-point advantage over the Republicans as the party best equipped to handle the nation's serious problems.

Team Obama has proven to be an impressive mix of strategists and managers, idealists and street-smarts. Equally astonishing has been their model of Internet-based fund-raising, grass-roots organization, long-range planning and political mobilization that skillfully exploits Obama's rock star appeal. Don't expect him to buy into McCain's challenge of town hall-style debates that would give McCain free access to Obama's rock star size crowds.

Obama has to avoid alienating his existing broad base, McCain has to work aggressively to expand a narrow support base. McCain is on the losing side on three big issues: the economy, health care and Iraq. McCain's maverick reputation will not be enough to insulate him against being the candidate of Washington. One of the smartest moves the Obama team made early on was to locate campaign headquarters outside Washington, in Chicago.

But McCain could win the argument on free trade and paint Obama as an anti-North American Free Trade Agreement panderer. If critics are to be believed, the free trade pact has miraculously exported jobs from every single member to the other two partner countries.

The contrasts not just in the color of their skin but also in age, freshness, vitality and energy--not to mention inspiring eloquence and uplifting vision--will be cruelly clear every time Obama and McCain share a stage.

Will concerns about age and race offset each other? Against persistent rumors of McCain's legendary short temper, Obama is cool personified, a model of grace under pressure.

Tellingly, through all the ups and downs, the triumphs and tribulations of a tough and grueling Democratic contest, Obama has managed to retain not just his good humor, poise and equanimity, but also the respect, admiration and affection of his staff. If the campaign is a pointer to how a president will run his administration, the stars seem aligned.

Thakur is distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo.