Nearly every conservative in the country noticed how thin Barack Obama's resume is within about five minutes of his declaring as a candidate for President. That was to be expected, of course - but when one of Big Old Media's top political reporters starts talking about the empty suit, it's a sign of possible trouble down the road. Listen to Beth Fouhy of the Associated Press:

For Barack Obama, the millions of dollars he's raised can't quite paper over the nagging doubts and growing pains.

The Democratic presidential hopeful recently reported raising $32.5 million over three months, a staggering haul that shifted focus from the question of whether the 45-year-old political phenom is ready for prime time.

* * * * *

--An Obama campaign research memo surfaced criticizing Bill and Hillary Clinton's financial connections to India. The memo fell into the hands of Clinton's communications team, who promptly shared it with reporters. The snarky tone of the memo -- which at one point identified the New York senator as "D-Punjab" -- seemed to contradict Obama's stated commitment to running a positive campaign.

Obama blamed his staff for producing the memo, the third time he's publicly pointed the finger at employees for campaign mishaps. He then spent most of an Iowa campaign trip distancing himself from the memo and apologizing to his Indian-American supporters.

Read the entire article at the link above. Several factors contributed to Obama's early appeal. He is a charismatic character, and his lack of national identity makes him the proverbial "blank slate" upon which would-be supporters may inscribe the characteristics they most want him to have. This ethereal quality also makes him attractive to Democrats who either don't like Hillary or don't believe she can win.

In the end, in politics, though, you just can't beat something with nothing. Obama must take some stands to differentiate himself from Hillary and the rest of the field, and nothing in his short record in the Senate or as a candidate indicates he is willing or able to do that. For all his talk about "bringing us together," his voting has been straight party-line except for his cooperation with Coburn and others against earmarks - a fight into which he hasn't exactly thrown himself fully. That is scarcely enough to bridge the gap.

Perhaps most telling is Obama's clear propensity to blame others for his problems. What would his Oval Office sign read, "The Buck Passes Here" or something? Say, who hired those incompetent staffers anyway?