Obama: Campaigning with a message of hope

By Caren Bohan

EVANSVILLE, Indiana (Reuters) - Barack Obama's rapid rise from relative obscurity toward winning the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. president hit another bump when he lost to rival Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania.

Obama's defeat on Tuesday in the state's nominating contest slowed his momentum, but he still holds the lead in delegates who will decide the party's nominee to run against Republican John McCain in the November presidential election.

Just four years after he burst onto the national political scene with a keynote speech at the Democratic Party convention, the questions for those deciding whether to support Obama have been mostly about his relative inexperience.

Is the 46-year-old first-term senator who would be the first black U.S. president just a "phenomenon" desired by a war-weary nation eager for a fresh face or does he have what it takes to be an effective president?

Obama cast his scant time on the national political scene as an advantage, saying it meant his hope and ideals had not been compromised. His rousing oratory and can-do message struck a chord early with the public, drawing large crowds and enthusing young voters.

Doubts over whether voters were 'ready' for a black president diminished as he steadily chipped away at Clinton's large early lead and eventually moved past her in the long run-up to the presidential election.

Once the race was down to two Democratic candidates, there was little to distinguish them on policy issues.

MULTICULTURAL AMERICA