As someone who has always looked first at the sports page each morning, 44 is not a new number to respect. 44 was Hank Aaron, who, in my opinion, faced a lot more difficulty and pressure in his quest to break Babe Ruth's record, than Barack Obama faced in his two year quest for the White House. The media served up softballs for candidate Obama, which was certainly not Aaron's experience when he came to bat. Obama has had more good fortune politically than any one politician deserves, starting with the collapse of his opponents in his US Senate race in 2004. But I give Obama credit for taking advantage of the opportunity afforded him the last two years- a billion dollars to campaign with, a fawning media, a huge desire for change in the electorate, and a financial crisis that hit seven weeks before the election. He ran a campaign that was disciplined, and stayed on message, and effectively used the paid staff and volunteers who worked for him in key states. Now the hard part starts....(Read Full Post)