As McCain's commercial was being released, Obama was in Springfield, Mo., telling voters that Republicans will try to "make you scared of me — you know, 'he's not patriotic enough, he's got a funny name,' you know, 'he doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.' "
If this sounds familiar, it echoes remarks Obama made in Jacksonville, Fla., earlier this year. "We know what campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid," Obama said at a fundraiser. "They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced, and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?"
Obama is young and inexperienced. There will be no adoring crowds chanting his name at 3 a.m. in the White House. The real issue is not the color of Barack Obama's skin, but the thickness of it. If you can't stand the heat, put down the arugula and get out of the kitchen.
Obama reminds us of the role Robert Redford played in the 1972 film "The Candidate." A charismatic novice manages to eke out a narrow win over an aging veteran senator. Up in his hotel room, the victorious candidate looks up at his campaign managers and asks, "What do we do now?"
That is what should make voters afraid.
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