I had my own "Say it ain't so, Joe" moment when I heard that Obama was getting dragged down by
Illinois sleaze. Obama bought a house recently and at the same time, a guy named Tony Rezko bought a house next door. Rezko paid list price, but Obama got a discount, implying that this was basically a 5 figure bribe. Rezko is now under indictment for corruption charges and although none of the charges are related to Obama, Rezko is going to follow Obama around for a long time.
That said, it is absolutely possible for Obama to run. He's not going to have trouble raising money and he has a lot of credibility with the base and the media. The lack of a resume is a problem, but Edwards was runner up with a resume just as scanty, so its doable.
Also, you guys have to remember that Obama is a liberal. Now that Feinstein is out, Obama is probably the most liberal candidate out there. His voting record has gotten very liberal ratings from the groups that keep track as it was in his last job in the Illinois Senate. The reason he sounds like a moderate is that he is doing the Bush "uniter not a divider" thing, it's just that 1. He is better at it than Bush and 2. Unlike Bush, he actually does want to find common ground on things like religion. Also, I think there is a component that he wants to persuade people to become liberals by pointing out why what the believe meshes with liberal phlosophy, which is one of the best parts about him.