“I am in and I am in to win,”said Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York State senator and wife of former US President Bill Clinton, when she announced her bid to be the first female president in American history on January 20．Ms．Clinton, 59, formally stated in a video posted on her personal website that she was preparing to run in the 2008 US presidential election．

　　On January 16－four days before Ms．Clinton came forward as a presidential candidate－45-year-old African American senator Barack Obama made it clear he had the same dream．He has decided to form his presidential campaign exploratory committee．“As Americans, we must change our political situation,”he said．

　　If he succeeds in the 2008 presidential election, Obama will be the first black president in the history of America．

　　Although it is still too early to draw conclusions about the 2008 US presidential election, it is widely believed that there is no dark horse, and that either Ms．Clinton or Obama will win．

　　Ms．Clinton's unparalleled prestige and popularity is her greatest advantage．Nearly everyone knows her in the United States．In fact, her popularity has actually grown since her husband, Bill Clinton, concluded his two terms in office．In recent years Ms．Hillary Clinton has become the hottest female politician in the US political arena．

　　Hillary's second advantage is that she has one of the best political advisors in the country at her side－her husband．Bill Clinton, 60, still has the outstanding personal charm that helped him win office in 1992 and remains very popular．Many Americans value the memory of the good times in the Clinton age．This will undoubtedly be of benefit to Ms．Clinton．

　　Ms．Clinton's third“secret weapon”is her outstanding ability to raise money．Former Speaker of the House, Republican Newt Gingrich, once said that Hillary could raise more money than any other Democrat, and that this amount could probably exceed the total raised by other Democratic candidates．

　　Obama's major advantage is that he is young, energetic and charming．Obama is quite unlike the traditional politicians in Washington DC．Both media and the public have lavished(大量地给予)praise on him, reminding people of the years of Bill Clinton or even the Kennedy brothers．This is the so-called“Obama phenomenon”．Secondly, Obama is currently the only black senator in the United States Congress, and just the fifth black senator in US history．His father came to the US as a student from Kenya, which will make him popular with African American voters．Thirdly, Obama is an outstanding example of someone who is living the American dream．He was born into a common family and rose from the bottom of the society．He often claims to be the“poorest person in the Senate”．The common people find this very inspiring．Fourthly, unlike Hillary, Obama has taken a firm attitude against the Iraq war．This will help him to win the anti-war vote．

　　No matter who wins the election, Ms．Clinton or Obama, Americans will face an interesting question－a female president or a black president?Either one would be a new record．

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