THe Seattle Times:

"It may be that he has just the right mix of confidence and humility to lead the nation (Obama likes to say, "I'm reminded every day that I'm not a perfect man"). But if the young senator wins the nomination, even the smallest trace of arrogance will be an issue with voters who still consider him a blank slate.

That may seem unfair to a candidate who's running against Clinton, the former first lady who is the model of overbearing pride. This is a woman, after all, who claims experience from her eight years as first lady but won't release her White House records; who trails Obama in delegates but deigned to suggest he'd be her running mate; and who has more baggage than Samsonite yet says Obama lacks "vetting."

But voters expect arrogance from Clinton and her husband, Bill. It's part of the package. It's a 90s-thing. The Clintons' utter self-absorption comes with a record of achievement and brass-knuckle passion that Obama cannot match _ and that Democratic voters know could come in handy against GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain.

Voters won't cut Obama as much slack on the humility test because he's sold himself as something different. While rejecting the "me"-centric status quo and promising a new era of post-partisan reform, Obama has said the movement he has created is not about him; it's about what Americans can do together if their faith in government is restored. The power of his message lies in its humility. As he told 7,000 supporters at a rally last month, "I am an imperfect vessel for your hopes and dreams."

Nobody expects Obama to be perfect. But he better never forget that he isn't."

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MEanwhile in Indiana, Obama promised to focus on three priorities: a responsible withdrawal of troops from Iraq, health-care reforms that will cut premiums for the average family by $2,500 annually and an energy plan to reduce reliance on foreign oil.
"If we don't take care of those three things," Obama said, "we won't be able to afford any of the other initiatives that we're talking about because we will be broke."
The crowd that packed the gymnasium punctuated his remarks several times with chants of "Yes, we can," three words that have become a trademark of Obama's campaign.
That optimism for change, he said, is what has driven his campaign since he launched it early last year. As a 46-year-old man who has represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate since 2004, Obama said some people question why he didn't wait longer to run for the White House.
"I remind them of what Dr. (Martin Luther) King called the fierce urgency of now, because I believe there is such a thing as being too late, and that hour is almost upon us," Obama said. "I believe that if we can come together that there is no challenge we can't face now. There is no destiny we cannot fulfill.
"After having run now for 13 months . . . I am here to report that the people are ready for change."
The words brought the crowd to its feet, one of about a dozen roaring standing ovations Obama received. Moments later, though, the gym fell still and silent, as Obama recalled one of the rare other times that Indiana's primary election mattered.
That was 1968. Sen. Robert Kennedy, visiting Indianapolis to campaign for the presidency, broke the news to an inner-city crowd that King had been assassinated.
Kennedy, Obama recalled, told people that "we've got a choice in taking the rage and bitterness and disappointment and letting it fester and dividing us further . . . or we can take a different path."
Obama said he has thought of those words often in the past few weeks as the campaign has become more heated.
"The forces of division have started to raise their ugly heads again," he said. "Everybody senses there's been this shift."
He then cited the controversy over comments made by the man he now calls his "former pastor," the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Chicago, including Wright's suggestion that the United States' policies had provoked the 9/11 attacks and that the nation is racist.
Obama said he rejected Wright's "incendiary" words, and renewed his call for diverse people to come together.

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Yes, we can.