The American Spectator

Campaign Crawlers

When Barack Obama was pelted for cribbing some language from a speech given by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, it was a blessing for the Clinton campaign. They had been working for some time to get the charge to stick, that Obama is a great salesman without an inventory. It's not important whether he "stole" the line, "borrowed" it with permission, or happens to have a good ear. The Clintons wanted the press to stop gushing about how the man looked (stylistically and, gasp, racially). They wanted them to listen up. And what timing -- on the eve of the primaries, Barack Obama was taking flack for doing the one thing he does well. Speaking.

This followed a more general assault in the press over the past week. Obama-rama was (finally) going through the meat-grinder. For the first time in the mainstream press, Obama was being accused of being a cult of personality, a charismatic candidate with no substance. The "cult-like" nature of his followers was no longer "electrifying," but rather eerie. But reporters were confronted with a problem when attempting to describe the inexperience of a candidate -- that "nothing" is kind of hard to talk about.

Worse, Obama's words now have him flip-flopping on an issue about integrity -- something that's not hard to hold as an advantage over Hillary Clinton. Having promised to take public-funds for his campaign should his Republican opponent do the same, McCain's willingness to call his bluff has left him in a lurch. As an excuse, the Washington Post noted that "The candidate's advisers said yesterday that his pledge came before anyone realized how explosive his fundraising effort would become." Of course it did -- even Obama didn't expect to be crowned Jesus Christ, Redeemer of Politics. But the crown he received has its thorns.

THE BIGGEST thorn is not Hillary Clinton, but John McCain. It was an unexpected twist. At the end of the Bush administration, weren't the Democrats supposed to have this down? Their candidate was supposed to be, well, the Messiah, come to bury the failures of the Republicans' supposedly false one. It didn't happen. Instead, they're arguing about which candidate is the least likely to get buried. With the nomination for the Republican Party decided, the Democratic contest is eclipsed by McCain. McCain who was always a maverick. McCain who has his own cult of personality, but also war experience, foreign policy expertise, and, most important, time to gather his base. This was never supposed to happen.

Which is why Obama's campaign is so fascinating to watch as it unravels. Even if he doesn't admit it, he has taken huge hits. His personality, and the integrity that seems so engrained in it, is open to debate. While he has lived up to his promise of running a clean campaign, it seems just as much politically expedient as it does seem honorable. And his campaign contribution flap has placed serious doubt in whether he is a man of his word anyway. And Obama's use of funds to effectively bribe super-delegates is hardly reassuring when considering the "new" politics about which he's so excited.

p>Additionally, his speeches are now being derided as empty. A stumped reader writes in to WaPo : br> /p>

...The Cult of Obama is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. When I hear things like "We are the ones we have been waiting for" and "We are the change we seek," I want to scream.

br> And David Brooks picks up

topics:
John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton