Frank Rich, ever the brilliant political writer, though I often don't agree with his politics, ends today's column with the observation below. He cites the failure of the Clinton campaign machine as one BIG reason that Obama is surging ahead.
The simple fact of the matter is that Obama's rhetoric inspires people that things could/should/will be better while the Billary duo comes off as same ol', same ol'. People do want a change, but Obama, appealing as he is, strikes me as an empty suit, the kind of person you'd hire for a short term marketing job, not the CEO.
Nevertheless, his momentum in the primaries cannot be denied. I only wish the Republicans had fielded a better candidate than McCain.
"In the 2008 real-life remake of “Pat and Mike,” it’s not the fiancé, of course, but the husband who has sabotaged the heroine. The single biggest factor in Hillary Clinton’s collapse is less sexism in general than one man in particular — the man who began the campaign as her biggest political asset. The moment Bill Clinton started trash-talking about Mr. Obama and raising the specter of a co-presidency, even to the point of giving his own televised speech ahead of his wife’s on the night she lost South Carolina, her candidacy started spiraling downward.
What’s next? Despite Mrs. Clinton’s valedictory tone at Thursday’s debate, there remains the fear in some quarters that whether through sleights of hand involving superdelegates or bogus delegates from Michigan or Florida, the Clintons might yet game or even steal the nomination. I’m starting to wonder. An operation that has waged political war as incompetently as the Bush administration waged war in Iraq is unlikely to suddenly become smart enough to pull off that duplicitous a “victory.” Besides, after spending $1,200 on Dunkin’ Donuts in January alone, this campaign simply may not have the cash on hand to mount a surge."
