Obama does have proven appeal 
to Republicans but then his opponent was Alan Keyes 
and the state is Illinois
Dave
Personally, as far as I'm concerned, if a Texas placeholder with no political experience prior to that position could be vaulted to the presidency, there's no reason why Obama can't as well.
In the grand scheme of things, 6 years as governor counts for more than 4 years as a senator.
Why? Bush did basically absolutely nothing of note during his time as governor. You don't get valuable experience just taking up space in an elected position.
