Barack Obama is "floating like a butter fly and stinging like a bee

Like Muhammad Ali, Barack Obama is "floating like a butter fly and stinging like a bee," against his rival Democratic campaigns. Obama: 'People are willing to look beyond race' He just may be right. It seems that being an educated black man in Iowa is alright with the people of Iowa. Lets see if it plays out in the caucuses. Let see if it plays out in New Hampshire, let's see if it plays out on super Tuesday.

WaPo reports, With two days before Iowans go to the polls, significant support for Sen. Barack Obama from political independents has put rival Democratic campaigns on edge, challenging the traditional model of the state's caucuses as a low-turnout exercise dominated by partisan insiders.

This Story

• Independent Voters May Give Obama Edge in Iowa
• Edwards's Final Iowa Push

The senator from Illinois received a jolt of momentum late New Year's Eve, when the Des Moines Register's final Iowa poll showed him leading Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) by 32 percent to 25 percent, with former senator John Edwards (N.C.) at 24 percent. But just as striking were two findings that suggest Obama may be succeeding at one of the riskiest gambits of his Iowa campaign, an aggressive push to persuade non-Democrats to participate.

The survey found that more newcomers than regular participants could turn out on Thursday: Overall, 40 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers identified themselves as independents, the poll said, double the percentage from 2004, and 60 percent said they would be attending a caucus for the first time. Both groups preferred Obama.

As rival campaigns immediately challenged the makeup of the Register sample and a poll for CNN-Opinion Research came out showing the race a virtual tie between Clinton and Obama, the candidates spent the first day of the election year courting the shrinking number of uncommitted voters. More Here