Madam, - It is refreshing finally to agree with the opinion of Charles Krauthammer (Opinion, October 30th). Barack Obama represents a great bright hope for politics in the United States, and not just from a partisan perspective.
In many ways, Senator Obama has the gifts of Bill Clinton, but he has more. He has the ability to inspire Americans to believe that there is light beyond the current quagmire of self-defeating ideological division. And he provides hope for the wider world that the US can emerge from its current flirtation with human rights violations - in the name of security - and re-establish itself as a positive power on the world stage.
Senator Obama should indeed run for the democratic nomination for the presidency in 2008. And should he lose, a Clinton-Obama ticket would be a mouth-watering prospect. - Yours, etc,
TOM WARD, Monastery Road, Dublin 22.