The strength of Obama may lie in the fact that there aren't many attacks that the partisan attack machine can level against him which will resonate with most Americans.
I can only wish you were right, Ed. I just see the "Muslim" background stuff, the Obama/Osama, the dirty stuff about the madrassa in Indonesia, and so on, as just the beginning. No doubt they'll find more stuff in his community organizing work, etc.
My take on all this is not whether he will be attacked nor how vicious the attacks, but how well he handles them. I don't see him as having been tested yet in the Dem primaries. If that occurs, we'll have a better read. The stuff the Clintons have thrown out is grade school compared to what Rove et al will do.
PS, another thing to consider is that the major Republican politicians have recently shown a less ideological bent and a stronger pragmatic approach to politics.
Hmm, I read it differently. I find them (the ones likely to get the nomination) everybit as eager to engage in the cultural wars stuff as Bush in 04, generally leaning toward neocons for foreign policy advice, telling us that nonbelievers are not exactly a part of the polity, and genuine bigots on immigration issues. McCain is the only exception to much of this. And I don't see him as getting the nomination.
Perhaps I'm not looking at the same things you are. Care to share? |
