This is the first in a series of articles examining the positions of front-running presidential primary candidates.

With Super Tuesday right around the corner, the New York State primaries could prove to be an uphill battle for presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). On Feb. 5 he goes up against Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) who is currently leading in California, New Jersey and Florida for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, according to the latest Rasmussen report released yesterday.

Coming off the heels of a win in the Iowa caucus, Obama projects himself as a candidate for change, a buzzword that has become talk show fodder from both sides of the political spectrum.

Dozens of excited students cheered on speakers at the Barack Obama Rally for Change outside the Straight yesterday. The rally featured several students all of whom are passionate about politics and getting the Cornell population out to vote.

Rally for Change was put on by Cornell Students for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), a student group dedicated to organizing support for Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.

It was with open arms that we welcomed President Barack Obama to upstate New York on Monday. Unfortunately, Obama’s powerful message to our region got lost in the absurd political melodrama that has played out in Albany in recent months.

Rather than focus on the substantive things Obama said, news coverage of Obama’s visit has fixated on his “awkward” interaction with Gov. David Paterson. Obama was not in New York to rehash what he said about Paterson a few days ago, when the White House urged Paterson to end his gubernatorial pursuit. Instead, Obama visited a community college in Troy, N.Y. to emphasize the importance of higher education and research in the effort to rebuild New York’s economy.