Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Not that I'm bitter or anything


I think it's safe to say that now, the bloom is off the Barack Obama rose. Barack Obama Before was the fresh face that could break through the partisan sclerosis of American politics, but Barack Obama After simply seems remote and out of touch. The Great Man himself assures us that we're simply misinterpreting his thoughts or placing his life experience out of context. But as Jim Geraghty points out he's gone to that well too often. After Jeremiah Wright, Michelle Obama's lack of "pride in America", the "bitter" controversy, NAFTA, et al, there comes a point where we have to assume that what you see is what you get.

He's still the frontrunner for the nomination, of course, but at this point I'm genuinely undecided regarding who the stronger candidate for the general election is. Hillary Clinton is a figure of enormous antipathy and would help downticket Republicans, but at least she brings some compensation in the form of her burning ambition. She fully intends to "leave it all on the field", as the football-coach cliche has it. I just don't see that in Barack Obama, and the veneer of Untouchability is gone. God may or may not love the Republican party, but He certainly seems to have a soft spot for John McCain.

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