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Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' increasingly serious challenge to Hillary Clinton is drawing comparisons to Barack Obama's upset win over Clinton in 2008. While there are some parallels, political scientists said, there are also a number of key differences between the two campaigns.

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Like Barack Obama in 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls, surprising many pundits as he and Hillary Clinton near the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

But Bernie Sanders is no Barack Obama, according to political scientists interviewed by cleveland.com. While Sanders appears to be in a similar spot to where Obama was eight years ago - a relatively unknown politician using grassroots support to mount an unexpectedly strong challenge to Clinton - they offered several reasons why the U.S. senator from Vermont is in a comparatively weaker position.

Here are two reasons Sanders' 2016 campaign can be compared to Obama's 2008 run, and four reasons why they differ. If you see other areas in which the two campaigns are alike or different, let us know below in the comments section.

Why Obama and Sanders are alike:

1) Both are channeling Democratic anger

Like Obama in 2008, Sanders is tapping into a rich vein of liberal anger at the establishment, said Adam Seth Levine, an assistant professor of government at Cornell University. Large crowds of supporters have turned out for both candidates, and both have been particularly popular among younger voters.

However, as noted below, the reason for voters' anger is different this year than it was eight years ago.

2) Both have attracted lots of small donations

One key to Obama's unexpected victory in 2008 was his ability to pull in large numbers of small, online donations. And in many areas, Sanders is outpacing Obama when it comes to small donors.

Obama raised $96.8 million in 2007, about 22 percent of which came via donations of $200 or less (his small-donor fundraising didn't really take off until the end of 2007).

Sanders, meanwhile raised $73 million last year from a record 2.3 million donations made by more than 1 million people. While the campaign hasn't yet released how much of that came from small donors, 71 percent of the roughly $40 million he raised as of Sept. 30 of last year involved contributions of $200 or less.

By contrast, about 13 percent of the $73.7 million Clinton took in the first three quarters of 2015 came from donations of $200 or less. That's up from 2007, when small donations made up 10 percent of the $83.7 million she raised that year.

Sanders' campaign has even hired veterans of Obama's 2008 campaign to run his online fundraising efforts, along with social media and digital advertising.

Why Obama and Sanders are different:

1) Clinton has learned from her mistakes

There are many reasons - and lots of debate about - why Clinton lost to Obama in 2008. But this time around, Clinton's campaign is ready for some of the larger pitfalls that doomed her first run at the White House, experts said.

Clinton's 2008 campaign strategy relied on clearing the field quickly by racking up big wins in early primary contests. But Obama won Iowa, then stayed competitive in part by dominating low-profile (but often complicated) caucuses in states that Clinton's campaign didn't pay much attention to.

Sanders' campaign hopes to take a similar path to victory: winning over the youth and white vote while picking up delegates in caucus states.

But Clinton's campaign is now gearing up for a lengthy primary fight, and it won't be blindsided by attempts to win smaller state contests, said Thomas Sutton, political science department chair at Baldwin Wallace University.

"Clinton won't make the same mistake this time about overlooking caucuses," he said.

2) Obama is stronger with black voters

Obama, America's first black president, won 82 percent of the black vote in the 2008 Democratic primary. (Clinton, however, won the Hispanic vote that year by a nearly two-to-one margin).

Sanders, by contrast, has struggled to attract minority voters: a recent nationwide poll shows Clinton leading Sanders among both African Americans (63 percent to 20 percent) and Hispanics (54 percent to 33 percent).

"I think he's fundamentally different than Bernie in that sense," Sutton said of Obama's support among black voters.

And minority votes matter. More than 70 percent of the states holding contests through March 1 have Democratic electorates that were at least 20 percent non-white as of 2008, according to a University of Virginia study.

3) The Iraq War is no longer an issue

In 2008, the Democratic base was angry about the Iraq War. This election, they are angry about economic inequality.

That's important, Levine said, because much of the anger about the Iraq War was targeted at Clinton, who voted to authorize the war in 2002. Obama was able to exploit that on the campaign trail, Levine said, diverting attention from his own meager foreign policy experience.

Sanders, meanwhile has campaigned mostly on domestic issues, railing against Wall Street and calling for health care and college costs to be more affordable. While those issues resonate with many in the Democratic base, it's harder for Sanders to turn those issues against Clinton. Indeed, Clinton has shifted left on many policy issues, such as a higher minimum wage and a constitutional amendment to limit money in politics.

4) Democratic leaders are backing Clinton

In early 2008, Clinton led Obama in endorsements among Democratic governors and members of Congress. But Obama still had sizable support going into the Iowa caucuses.

The 2016 race has been different so far. To date, Clinton has been endorsed by 148 U.S. representatives, 38 U.S. senators, and 12 governors. Sanders has the backing of just two U.S. representatives.

As primary elections start, Levine said, those endorsements will be "huge," as many Democrats will look to them as they decide which candidate to support.

And right now, he said, Clinton "is just completely dominating."