Hillary v. Obama is the real race

James Forsyth says that the mighty race between the two Senators — the first serious black contender against the first serious female contender — will be the main event, as the Republicans’ fate is decided in Baghdad

Clinton’s in, Obama’s in, everybody’s in. Last week the 2008 presidential contest got serious, as the Democratic heavyweights Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama entered the race. Obama announced on Tuesday, Hillary followed on Saturday. Already 16 candidates have launched bids for the White House with as many as eight others expected to join the race soon. Although not a single vote will be cast until 14 January 2008, when the mid-Western state of Iowa gets the ball rolling with a Democratic caucus followed by a Republican one a week later, the campaign is already running at full speed. The contenders are keenly aware that by the time the primaries start there will only be a handful of serious candidates left on either side.