I promised one of my readers a blog entry about Senator Barack Obama and here it is: It's going to be probably less interesting than my other one about Governor Sarah Palin because, well, Obama has been in the news a lot over the past year or two so there is less insight I can bring to the table.

Obama has run a successful primary campaign running on sheer charisma and capitalizing on the national discontent with Republican George Bush. Within the Democratic Party, however, supporters of the failed campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton were left with bad tastes in their mouths after a protracted primary season that ended in a virtual stalemate between Clinton and Obama. The impasse was essentially was unilaterally settled by Democratic Party leaders in favor of Obama. To be fair, Obama did have a slight edge over Clinton on delegates going into the stalemate, but hardly a convincing mandate.

Many disgruntled Clinton supporters, especially women, feel that the Democratic Party is taking their support for granted. [Google "PUMA" and "Clinton"]. This situation was not helped when Obama failed to even make a gesture of considering Clinton for the vice president position.

Obama's choice of longtime Senator Joseph Biden for Vice President was very much a political act of playing it safe.

Strategically, it allowed John McCain to do what he likes to do - act like a gutsy party rebel or a "maverick" by nominating Palin, a Governor who was elected on a platform of reform and has by all accounts delivered. In one master political stroke, McCain simultaneously builds his case that he is serious about working towards reforming the Republican Party and American politics and at the same time validating the feelings of disenfranchised Clinton supporters who, again, felt that women's support was being taken for granted by Obama and the Democratic Party, letting them know that he considers them equal partners in leadership. Oh, and he also energized the conservative base of his party.

A cynic would interpret McCain's move as blatant pandering. However, it is the Democratic Party and Obama themselves who created the opportunity for McCain to pander by the way they mismanaged the Clinton situation.

I can't overstate the significance of a Presidential candidate putting a woman on the ticket. It is important to remember that for all the talk of equal rights in America, no woman has ever served as a President or Vice President there, and this fact is not lost on American women. The one and only time a US Presidential candidate had a female running mate was in 1984 when Walter Mondale ran with Geraldine Ferraro and lost to incumbent President Reagan. I did not vote in that election: I was only 14 years old. Many voters today are too young to remember this election at all.

While Barack Obama would be the first Black president, and that is truly exciting, it is also historic for a woman to attain the position of Vice President. So in terms of novelty to the American voter, Obama and Palin might cancel each other out. That remains to be seen.

What's been said about Obama that hasn't already been said? He's the antithesis of Bush. If Obama delivers on half the promises he's made, he will be colossally popular. But in order to do this, he has to get elected.

Getting elected as President these days means being able to carry crucial "swing" states that can go either Democrat or Republican. My state of New York is going to vote for him. But the swing states: Can he win them? Can McCain win them? That is the million dolar question.

There is a lot of campaigning left to go, and a lot of things can happen between now and November.

Which brings us back to Palin, the wildcard. Her speech at the Republican Convention tonight in Minneapolis will be watched closely by all Americans, but how well it is received, especially by the voters in those swing states, is sure to be crucial.

How crucial? Like The West Wing during ratings "sweeps" week crucial.