Just a few thoughts:

Mudcat is a site for folkies. Anybody ever heard "Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall"? This is more and more apt.   I would think people here, some of whom seem to worship the author of that line, would actually read it once in a while.

It's time to ditch the stupid cynicism that assumes that since money is involved in campaigning, the candidate is in the pocket of big money. Money is involved in campaigning--has been for centuries. Get over it.

New Hampshire: Obama could benefit, as McCain did in 2000, from a NH factor: in NH, you can vote in a primary even if you are not registered in either party. Over 40% of NH voters are in fact not registered with a party.

Obama attended local schools in Indonesia--they were not madrassas--from age 6 to 10. Classes were taught in Indonesian, which he can still speak a bit.   His father is Moslem, I understand. He himself is Christian. This is the sum total of his "Islamic ties".