Let?s have a landslide victory for a Democrat, eh? It?s been awhile. Barack Obama can make it happen [hyperlink]:
The drumbeat of approval has been remarkably steady. Last year Mark McKinnon, a top adviser to both the 2000 and 2004 Bush campaigns, admiringly called Mr Obama ?a walking, talking hope machine? who ?may reshape American politics.? Andrew Ferguson devoted pages in The Weekly Standard to raving about Dreams From My Father, Mr Obama?s memoir, before dismissing its political sequel, The Audacity of Hope. Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, keeps trying to write anti-Obama articles but they?re so mild that they never really contradict his judgment of a year ago that the senator from Illinois ?is the only presidential candidate from either party about whom there is a palpable excitement.? Even Tom Tancredo, the most virulent immigration demagogue of the Grand Old Party presidential field, has spoken warmly of Mr Obama.
Perhaps most striking is the case of Shelby Steele, the archconservative scholar who shares Mr Obama?s mixed-race heritage. Though he has just written an entire book, A Bound Man, to argue (unpersuasively, in my view) that Mr Obama ?can?t win?, he can?t stop himself from admiring the guy throughout.
Peggy Noonan wasn?t being tongue-in-cheek when she wondered in The Wall Street Journal last month whether Mr Obama ?understands the kind of quiet cheering he is beginning to garner from some Republicans.? In her view ?they see him as a Democrat who could cure the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton sickness.?
The way I see it, you simply cannot hate the man. If you hate Barack Obama, it says only one thing: you need therapy. I don?t know how any reasonable philosophy of life could leave you sputtering, ?That goddamned sonovabitch, Barack Obama!?
So you?re left with two kinds of opponents: people of various political backgrounds meekly saying, ?Um, well, I disagree with some of his policies, but…? or the plain racist bastards that run around saying, ?You wouldn?t want to vote for Barack Hussein Osama, that terrorist in disguise, would you??
The Republicans have a clear game plan for Hillary, just like they had for the first three months of Iraq.
As Frank Rich says, they don?t have a plan B.
That?s B for Barack.
Iowa Liberal
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