The Race is just beginning

[TheMercenary]

THE race is over: long live the race. Barack Obama and the Democratic Party have reason to feel sanguine as they contemplate the long contest ahead against John McCain and the Republican Party. The current Republican president’s approval ratings are in the dumps, in part because the economy is weak—the unemployment rate rose to 5.5% last week—and in part because the war in Iraq, despite becoming less bloody recently, remains unpopular. Many voters say the country is on the wrong track.

And the Democrats have, at last, nominated a man, Mr Obama, who sends crowds into paroxysms of joy. In contrast his opponent, Mr McCain, appears lacklustre at the moment: he has taken limited advantage of the prolonged division among the Democrats.

Yet, as the next stage of the battle for the presidency begins, it is far from clear that Mr Obama will find the coming months easy,

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https://www.economist.com/world/na/d...ry_id=11524787