Amy Alkon, perhaps the only Pajama Medias blogger whose work I often enjoy when she's not writing about anything I much care about, has this to say about Mr. Obama in her most recent blog post:

" I've marveled at how utterly non-threatening the guy is who's running as the Democratic candidate to be the leader of the free world. I think that's a substantial part of his appeal to younger voters: He doesn't quite seem like a grownup. He's not a businessman (not the way you'd see your dad or grandpa as a businessman). He's this boyish, sensitive man with a wife who seems to be much more man than he.

Gregg, by the way, noticed that when the two of them were on stage the other night, and they were going to greet the audience, Michelle Obama strode ahead of him like a power-walker instead of taking his arm and going along to support him. Verrrry interesting!"

It is, indeed, interesting, how conservative pundits stick to their scripts so well.  John Edwards is the Breck Girl, or, alternatively, someone Ann Coulter can't talk about without using the word 'faggot'.  John Kerry  'looks French'.   Now, Barack Obama is a 'boyish, sensitive man with a wife who seems to be much more man than he'. 

Ms. Alkon then both links to and prints a lengthy excerpt from a Wall Street Journal piece by Michael Knox Beran named 'Barack Obama, Shaman'. 

In addition to the title reference, which pretty directly implies that Senator Obama is some kind of no good lousy non-Christian wizard-type guy, Knox Beran loads his article with the textual equivalent of depleted uranium rounds and then empties his entire ammo belt in Obama's general direction, hoping desperately that phrases like "androgyne", "post masculine", "male mother", "metrosexual mildness rather than masculine testosterone", and "sagging sperm count" will somehow stick to the Senator from Illinois, calling his character into question in a manner that will entirely undermine his Presidential aspirations.  (And, presumably, distract readers from Beran's own literary shortcomings -- I mean, is there any other kind of testosterone besides masculine?)

Just in case calling Mr. Obama a fag eighteen different ways in two paragraphs isn't enough to send undecided moderates bolting for a McCain button, Beran has a spare clip of ammo in his belt which he hastily reloads with.  Over his next several paragraphs, he starts blasting away with such phosphorus-laced tracer fire as "communitarianism", "the collectivist ideal", "the empathetic mommy state", "the collectivist dream", and "communitarian paradise".  Not only does Senator Obama like to suck a lot of dicks, Beran advises us between the lines, with a nod and a wink, but he's a goddam pinko Commie subversive, too!

Ms. Alkon surprises me by excerpting all this nonsense; not only is she an intelligent person who certainly knows it's all b.s., but after  having been savaged shamefully by the emotionally retarded hordes at Sadly, No! over the past week or so, I'd have expected much better of her than to sink to the same loathsome lows as her recent attackers did, with their various imputations and allegations regarding her own sexuality.  Having her wikipedia page rewritten by some dimwitted so-called progressive to say that she's a post-operative transsexual apparently  didn't  trouble her in the least, or, at least, it didn't trouble her enough to keep her from  imputing that  Senator Obama is some kind of girlie-man  and (taking the whole 'liberals as weepy womenfolk' motif one step further than even Maureen Dowd or Ann Coulter has heretofore) that Michelle Obama clearly wears the penis in the family.

I wonder at the conservative mind's ability to ignore all internal contradictions within their own retarded propaganda.  John Edwards is a lisping queerboy who lacks character because he cheated on his wife with some babe.  Wait... what?

Still, it's probably true that the only important quality a U.S. President truly needs is manly goddam toughness.  George W. Bush may be the only cowboy rancher in the history of the world who has never been on horseback, but by God he looks great in a flight suit.   Ronald Reagan may have napped his entire Presidency away, but at least we always understood that the bombing would start in ten minutes.  And John McCain is so fucking manly he needs a team of trained professionals to get his zipper up in the morning, he's so goddam masculine that his campaign slogan really should be JOHN McCAIN:  NOT STUPID, JUST FILLED TO THE GUNWALES WITH TESTOSTERONE. 

I say that in light of this revelation as to the only vital trait we require in our Chief Executive, we cancel the Presidential election and hold a steel cage match instead.  Obama vs. McCain, one night only, in the Thunder Dome -- two Senators go in, but only one comes out!  Let Johnny the Mac sob "I was a P.O.W.!!!!" as "Slamma" Obama beats him senseless with a folding chair.   Make it a tag-team match; after the Senator from Illinois has reduced his aged opponent to a whimpering puddle of liver spotted gruel, Michelle can bitch slap and terrorist fist jab Cindy into dazed submission. 

Obviously, I kid.  Mayhem and violence are no way to settle matters of national and international significance, no matter what the battered Iraqi civilian populace may otherwise believe.  Instead, we weak, pansified, mangina bearing progressives must resign ourselves to the inevitable victory of Manly Man McCain and the rest of his He Man Women Haters Club (AKA, the Republican Party).  And after Johnny McC is sworn in, perhaps he'll hire Barack Obama and a few other sissies just like him as White House secretaries.  That way, McCain and his fellow Heroic Alpha Males will always have someone around that they can kid with, someone to knock the lunch trays out of the hands of, someone to pick up by the ankles and dunk head first in the Pentagon toilets with while chanting "faggggzzzzzz fagggggzzzz" and hitting each other in the fat part of the arm.

Oh, how we'll laugh when those golden days return once more.  With a true manly man as U.S. President we'll once again be able to openly mock homos and having resoundingly put the uppity Obamas back firmly in their places, Americans will once more be able to enjoy gentle, harmless racial humor, just like when our future President was a wee lad listening to his dad and uncles telling hilarious spic, kike, spade, and Polack jokes around the family Thanksgiving table. 

Yes.  God forbid Barack Obama be elected U.S. President, because what we all fear most is a sissy boy in high office.  And what the world needs most is more powerful men with testosterone poisoning. 

Change we can believe in is, apparently, a choice to back a conservative Democratic incumbent over a liberal challenger, because the former's political IOU will be worth more in a rookie President's first term than the latter's. 

It is reneging on a pledge to do everything in one's power to oppose a dreadful FISA bill.  It is making a safe, solid, stolidly moderate pick for VP, instead of a daring, controversially progressive one. 

It is constantly signaling to the middle of the road and conservative voters that they can trust you to do nothing that will upset, annoy or alienate them, while simultaneously blowing a great big juicy razzberry to everyone on the left. 

John McCain and his political handlers know right down in their bones that the only way McCain wins the Presidency in November is if he manages to get more Americans out there to pull a lever against Obama than for him.

Obama, unfortunately, has chosen to adopt exactly the same strategy -- try to appeal to those he hasn't convinced yet, sure, but, for the most part, play it safe with moderates and do his level best to get a majority of voters to decide that, no matter what else may happen, they simply cannot under any circumstances vote for McCain.

This is Obama's message to liberals, progressives, and everyone else out here on the political left -- sure, I may piss you off when I stab you in the back, but what the hell, it's not like any of you people are going to vote for McCain, right?

Obama's great strength is not that he's Not-McCain.  Being Not-McCain isn't enough.  Any and/or all of the other possible Democratic candidates were also Not-McCain.  Obama won the nomination not by being someone else's negative reflection, but by being his own positive image.  He was someone to vote for. He could persuade people.   He could stand up for principle and make a difference.  He could reach the undecideds and bring in new voters.  He was charismatic, articulate, brilliant.  He could change the numbers,  shake up the political equation, start a genuine revolution. 

He could make a difference.

Now, he's just being the same old-same old.  He's being That Guy.  You know, the Adult.  The politician who tells you Yes You Can... Probably.   The one who tempers his idealistic vision of genuine progress with Well, You Have To Understand That In The Real World We Have To Make Hard Choices.    The one who looks at you disapprovingly when you mention expectations and higher standards, who tells you scornfully to Grow Up. 

I find myself feeling disappointed almost constantly now.  I find myself feeling tricked, deceived, betrayed, and trapped.  I mean, what am I going to do? 

It's not like I'm going to vote for McCain.

The problem is, Obama can lose this election, and this is how he can do it.  The Democrats were guaranteed a win this November, a great big win, as long as they played it safe.  Had the Democrats run any charismatic white man  they had for President, they were a lock for the White House and huge Democratic gains in both Houses.  All they had to do was stick to the script, don't shake things up, go for the sure thing, and, well, they were a sure thing.

Yet they -- we -- chose not to do that.  We had the audacity to hope.  We went outside the box.  We decided to roll the big dice, to go double or nothing -- to not simply settle for taking over the government again, but to really try for something historical.  The only thin desperate shred of hope the Republicans had was that the Democrats would try to elect either a non-white or a woman to the Presidency, and like suckers in Vegas down to our last borrowed nickel, we went for it. 

Having dared to dare, our daring nominee now dares nothing further... and that's a losing strategy.  If we were going to play it safe we'd have nominated John Edwards... and if we'd nominated John Edwards, he'd have gone off in our faces like some rusty piece of left over WWII ordinance we stumbled over in the dark on our way to the polling places in November.  We didn't play it safe.  We chose the big risk.

Yet now, our big risk has decided to ease back on the throttle, to pump down the volume, to be inoffensive, to keep it real.   Instead of playing to win, he's doing his best not to lose.   Like it's in the bag.  Like we can't possibly blow this one, as long as we're careful and don't make any errors.

Can we lose this election.

Yes, we can.

Oh my, yes we can.