McCain may not be as inept and clueless as he seems. Strapped for cash, by falling so far behind in the polls he has turned Obama, not Bush, into the "incumbent" and the focus is now on Obama and not Bush. 
The extensive press resume pasted from
Slate below explains much of the Obama phenomenon and also explains the
existential crisis that the United States is undergoing.(Reporters are) not as much in love with Obama as they're in love with the idea of Obama, of the "meaning" of his run for the presidency, of the redemption he offers a sinful nation that scratched slavery into its liberty-loving Constitution.In all of this there are many dangers implicit for the United States and for the rest of humanity.
The windows of this mind-set are provided by Slate's Jacob Weisberg, for whom the Obama election is a national referendum on racism; the New York Times' Nicholas D. Kristof, for whom an Obama presidency is an opportunity to "rebrand" our nation and "find a path to restore America's global influence"; E.J. Dionne, who sees an Obama presidency as representing a chance to "rekindle the sense of possibility and transformation" in American life; and a swooning Andrew Sullivan, who almost a year ago speculated that Obama might be "that bridge to the 21st century that Bill Clinton told us about." For Chris Matthews, of course, the Obama candidacy is a "thrill" going up his leg, one that will arc over his torso and detonate his head in the event of a victory.
The leading Obama cheerleader among the commentariat is Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, whose "erection of the heart" for the candidate has no match. Alter sees the presidential election as a world referendum on the United States and "the common sense and decency of the American people." Obama symbolizes hope over fear, and his election would produce an "Obama Dividend" that would "blow the minds of people in the Middle East and other regions, and help restore American prestige." Obama, Alter continues, "knows how to think big, elevate the debate and transport the public to a new place."Jack Slafer - Slate
Most probably Barack Obama will be
the next president of the United States and if elected his major
problem may very well be to control the "left wing infantilism" of some
of his supporters who are going to confuse a virtual victory by default
with a sea change in American politics, however for the same reason the
presence of these supporters means that John McCain still has a real, if at this date almost infinitesimal, chance to pull off an upset.
Most probably Barack Obama will be
the next president of the United States and if elected his major
problem may very well be to control the "left wing infantilism" of some
of his supporters who are going to confuse a virtual victory by default
with a sea change in American politics, however for the same reason the
presence of these supporters means that John McCain still has a real, if at this date almost infinitesimal, chance to pull off an upset.
I am so eternally skeptical of Barack Obama's attainments and so insistent on the subject, that there are people that think I favor John McCain. This is not so.... I am just horrified by the choice. I really am. I felt and still feel that the only major American politician with the vision, bandwidth and experience necessary to bring the USA through the next eight years is and was that boring, old, Nobel Prize winner, Al Gore. In short, I haven't got a dog in this fight.
