by Alfred Nylund

Created on: January 19, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

Obama has a bright political future no matter how you look at it.

The only question is, will he remain such a high-profile phenomenon, embraced on all sides by liberals and conservatives alike?

The answer is clearly no. The American public will not long be enamoured of Obama and his airy, pleasant-sounding talk of cleaning up politics and dealing with the small issues as well as the great.

The reason is the honeymoon effect: Obama is an appealing character, a skilled and captivating speaker, and he's riding a wave of popularity across the country with his best-selling book. His boisterous and enthusiastic reception by political allies in New Hampshire was unprecedented.

So what could bring this man down? The issues.

Once Obama begins to define himself and take a real stand on the heavy issues that divide this country, he cannot help but lose some of his supporters. In order to be a real contender in a national election, Obama will have to move to the center on the issues while simultaneously keeping the support of his liberal base- not an easy task.

The real question here is whether Obama will come out of the necessary political transformation unscathed, retaining the appeal that overshadows his utter lack of experience.

And the answer to this question, only time will tell.

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