Victor Davis Hanson notes the shrinking of Obama:
think McCain will incrementally continue to close the lead for four reasons:
The hope and change rock-start moments are waning, and replaced by a new Obama composite:
1) Obama flips in furious fashion; the only controversy is over when the mutations will stop, and how well he can convince his base that they are only cosmetic adjustments of limited duration necessary for election and the implementation of their shared European-like agenda.
2) Obama is proving messianic; all the lectures about fainting, the Brandenburg Gate, his new seal, open-air address in Denver, oceans receding, etc. are cementing a portrait of a megalomaniac. Almost everyone has by now “disappointed”, or “disrespected” Obama, or is not the fellow prophet that Obama “knew,” “remembers”, or “recalls”. His sermons on our SUVs, lack of language fluency, diet etc. are as hypocritical as they are sophomoric, and confirm Michelle’s summation of the rest of us as “unaware, uninformed.”
3) Obama is ruthless — the numbers of those thrown under the bus — Wright, his grandmother, Ms. Power, former aides — are now resembling speed bumps. This is not unusual in politics, but contradicts the Sermon on the Mount imagery, and confirms the past narrative of his take-no-prisoners political ambitions.
4) Obama has a poor grasp of history, geography, American culture, and common sense — whether the number or location of states in the Union, basic facts about WWII or where Arabic is spoken, or his sociological take on Pennsylvania, etc. His advisors realize this, and are playing 4th-quarter defense by keeping him out of ex tempore, non tele-prompted hope and change venues, where his shallowness can manifest itself in astonishing ways.
Hanson wisely goes on to note that Obama is still the favorite in Campaign ’08 – but it is clear that the bloom is off the rose. The big question is whether or not Obama’s handlers can keep him locked away from the electorate until November. If the election were held today, Obama would probably win – but the election is in November and Obama has nearly four months in which to continue stumbling from one gaffe to another. The key for McCain is to figure out a way to draw Obama out – either by goading him (he has a large amount of pride and might be snookered into going into an unfavorable venue with McCain) or by chipping away enough at Obama’s lead (which is already happening) to the point where Obama’s people understand that defeat looms and only a direct confrontation with McCain can possibly save the day.
What stuns the seasoned political observer is the vaporous nature of Obama – he’s really got nothing except a pretty good, set piece speaking style. I think we have to go back to the Wilke phenomena in 1940 (another political zero raised up as the next big thing) for a comparison. Every now and again in American politics someone comes along who is hailed as the saviour of a worn out America – the aforementioned Wilke, but also William Jennings Bryan, John Fremont…people who came out of nowhere to shake up American politics, only to be brought down to earth by the realities of life. We’ll see if Obama is different – but for him to be different he’s going to have to get down and dirty and fight this thing out like a man, not walk around like he’s already President-elect.
Blogs For Victory 