[chedda]

So the word on the street is that Barack Obama is busy breaking fundraising records, while other contenders are trying to drop out gracefully. Last I checked the figure was floating around $32 mil. This illustrates the extent to which personality figures into the elections. Regardless of party, the candidates with the strongest popular support share a remarkably similar agenda across the board. Hence the preference over personality issues. The fact that personality has long been a deciding force in elections notwithstanding, this one features a prolific cast of candidates perhaps unrivaled in electoral history. The candidates themselves will not only be a deciding factor in 2008 but, in all likelihood, the only factor. In light of this, people from all interests are taking the opportunity to put forward the candidate of their choice both inside and, as the case of Obama makes clear, outside the voting booth.