The New York Times reports on Barack Obama's visit to New York donors, a preview of the protocol dance that will ensue over the course of the Presidential primary.

Senator Barack Obama treaded onto Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s home turf last night to meet with prominent Democratic donors and feel out those who might prefer the sound of President Obama to President Clinton (as in Hillary, not Bill).

Amid intensifying presidential musings by Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama met with George Soros, the liberal billionaire philanthropist, and then some other donors last night at Mr. Soros’s offices.

One of the donors who met with Mr. Obama, and who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to offend Mrs. Clinton, said that he and several others had supported Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaigns but were not committed to her as a presidential candidate.

“I like Hillary a lot, but I’m also impressed with Obama — his message, the way he connects to people,” said the donor, a prominent New York business person. “It’s a little too early for Democrats to be certain that Hillary is the strongest bet for 2008. There are a lot of good people interested in running.”

It's largely considered impolite to campaign in the base of a potential opponent; however, with New York far from locked up for the junior Senator (49% of New Yorkers support her 2008 candidacy, per a recent Siena Poll, which is quite low for a favorite daughter), there will be more such breaches of protocol. The simple fact is that, while New York doesn't really matter in terms of elections – our primary is too late to exert much of an influence, and our votes are pretty much considered a Democratic lock – we matter a whole lot more in terms of the lucre that fuels campaigns. So we can expect more of these delicate missions, it would appear.