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Even though Barack Obama has only served in national office for three years, his ability to, as State Sen. Donne Trotter, a Democrat, says, be "a quick read, a quick study" compensates for the lack of experience.

Currently Barack is serving on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which oversees our nation's health care, schools, employment, and retirement programs. He is also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which helps shape our American policy around the world, including our policy in the Middle East and he serves on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, which provides the care and services our veterans need.

In 2005 and 2006, he served on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which seeks to protect our environment and provides funding for our highway infrastructure.

Being on all of these committees and being a quick study, Barack Obama has gained a good understanding of how things work in the US Senate. In his book,"Audacity of Hope" written in 2006, he explains the interplay between the majority party and the minority party when negotiating on a bill.

He writes, 'the majority party can begin every negotiation by asking for 100 per cent of what it wants, go on to concede 10 percent, and then accuse any member of the minority party who fails to support this 'compromise' of being 'obstructionist.' For the minority party in such circumstances, 'bipartsonship' comes to mean getting chronically steamrolled, although individual senators may enjoy certain political rewards by consistently going along with the majority and hence gaining a reputation 'moderate' or 'centrist'.

He knows the give and take that takes place in the Senate and he used it to his advantage in both the Illinois Senate and the United States Senate. The legislators who worked with Obama in the Illinois Senate found that he was able to overcome his lack of experience with his ability to quickly grasp complicated issues. Senator Kirk Dillard acknowledged that Obama was 'a full partner' in drafting and passing Illinois' first major ethics law in 25 years. He also said that Obama helped create the state earned-income tax credit.

Accomplishments like these are rare 'especially In a rough and tumble place driven by seniority like Illinois is,' Dillard says.

These accomplishments demonstrate Barack Obama's ability to reach across the aisle and to get things done. Barack Obama has shown that knowledge and an ability to quickly grasp a situation go hand-in-hand with experience. Having the first compensates for the lack of experience.

Experience doesn't guarantee success anymore than lack of experience causes failure. "What really matters is your temperament and your ability to make good decisions," Dean Spiliotes, a political scientist at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. says.

Barack Obama has also demonstrated his ability to piece together events and experiences to lay a foundation for his ideas and views on the issues. One has only to read his two books, 'Dreams From My Father' and 'The Audacity of Hope' to agree with Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times who writes, '[Barack Obama] is that rare politician who can actually write- and write movingly and genuinely about himself'[He] strives in these pages to ground his policy thinking in simple common sense'while articulating these ideas in level-headed, non-partisan prose.'

Indeed, Barack's ability to write and to speak effectively and passionately as demonstrated in his address at the 2004 National Democratic Convention, will help alleviate any concern over his lack of experience. His record of getting things done across the aisle also demonstrates his ability to lead.

In fact, Barack Obama, if elected, would not be the least experienced president. He has more experience than Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush had when they were elected. Wilson only had two years experience as New Jersey's governor while George W. Bush served for six years as Texas governor before becoming president.

Does Barack Obama have the necessary prerequisites, the experience needed to be commander in chief? Can Barack Obama lead? Yes, he can!! Barack Obama Can!!