Right now, Barack Obama has the ball and he’s been able to score but can he win? So far it’s looking like he just might.

Like the crazy college football season that concluded with LSU’s win over Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game, it’s been a political year where the underdogs have become favorites.

That’s what happened in the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3, when Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee scored convincing wins in Iowa.

Not bad for a guy who Seattle author Sherman Alexie believes has no chance because his middle name is Hussein and for a guy who has eaten squirrel.

Hillary Clinton came in with the most money raised and the Clinton campaign machine behind her. She touted her experience and insinuated that victory would be inevitable.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney had the most money raised, the confidence and looks.

Both suffered crushing defeats.

Huckabee tapped into populist sentiment and the evangelical Christian vote in Iowa while Obama extended his appeal to women and independents.

All of this of course comes with a bit of caveat. As Clinton pointed out in her caucus night speech, many voters were not represented because to have your vote count you have to show up for a caucus meeting in the early evening. People who couldn’t get baby sitters, hospital staff who work the night shift, waiters and waitresses, cops — the list of people who weren’t represented goes on.

Still, the fact remains that the tacticians in the Clinton campaign couldn’t deliver a victory. But Jan. 8 they rallied for victory in New Hampshire, despite polls that favored Obama, throwing yet another monkey wrench into the campaign.

In 1980s, many Democrats and independents voted for Ronald Reagan, and Obama has similar appeal. Like Reagan, Obama is a great communicator, inspires confidence and makes people feel good about themselves and has a vision. Obama’s critics say he recites too many platitudes such as the “audacity of hope.” While he is eloquent, he lacks experience and his policies are unproven. Then again, Obama’s “hope” mongering is not too dissimilar from what Bill Clinton’s campaign accomplished in 1992, appealing to change and improving the economy. The campaign emphasized that Clinton was “the man from Hope,” referring to Clinton’s hometown.

Clinton is the more experienced pol, and she would offer change as the first woman president. But she’s not an outsider, she’s a D.C., New York insider.

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee and Sen. Maria Cantwell both endorsed Clinton. Inslee touted Clinton’s experience and her ability to win.

“The people of Washington are ready for change. There is too much at stake to take chances after the last seven years. We need a candidate who has been through the fire and knows how to lead,” Inslee said in a press release. “She has the toughness, experience, and resolve needed to end the Iraq war and begin rebuilding America’s image around the world.”