Obamamania

I would love to write an interesting post that doesn't have anything to do with the primary season, but alas, it is all I think about.

It now appears that the Obama campaign is starting to break away from Clinton in a way that would have been unthinkable only two weeks ago. The pastor Wright flap had the potential to actually sink Obama as it played over and over again on cable television. His attraction for so many voters is that he transcends race issues and yet, bam, there it was, Obama's black pastor damning America. This was something that the Clintons had actually wanted for some time, stemming back to the circulating photograph of Obama in a turbin (oh my God!), Obama being generally popular because he is black (Ferraro cires reverse racism), and Obama winning S. Carolina because he is black (Clinton's referense to J. Jackson). It never stuck, though. Actually, it backfired on the Clintons. With Wright, however, we saw a new hate speach that the Clintons only wish they could have created. It looked like one of those moments in a campaign where you say to yourself, "could this be it?" (Think John Kerry's swift boats and Howard Dean's enthusiastic scream).

And yet, in responding to the events, Obama's speech on race actually increased his popularity. From that moment, two weeks ago, things have completely changed for the campaigns. Clinton has been dragged down by her embellishments on foreign policy experience in Bosnia, while Obama has enjoyed the high-profile endorsements of Bill Richardson (member of the Holy Trinity - Gore, the father, and Richardson and Edwards his sons), as well as a previously neutral Senator Casey from Pennsylvania, who is now ushering Obama through western Pennsylvania, sipping beer, eating hotdogs, and bowling. And tomorrow, Monday, another Senator who was previously staying neutral, Senator Klobuchar of Minnesota, will endorse Obama. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120692054573175525.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news Add to this new reports showing the Clinton campaign has millions in upaid bills, suggesting a fundraising problem, as well as unfavorable op-ed pieces in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/opinion/30rich.html?ex=1364616000&en=44e3a2bd5e124401&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalinkand a new picture is beginning to emerge. His ratings look good, the endorsements are now starting to come in, and the negative ads should slow down as Dean has warned both campaigns to cool it (evidence of this is Obama saying Clinton should stay in the race as long as she wants tohttp://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/obama-to-clinton-stay-in-the-race/ ). If it is true that the campaigns have to cool it, and that Hillary has to take the Tonya Harding option off the table, then the Clintons are in trouble. I'm not saying its over (it never is with them), but it doesn't look good for the Clintons. Afterall, the only thing that worked for the Clinton campaign against Obama this entire time has been the kitchen sink strategy. It won her Ohio and the Texas primary, which she got big mileage out of. However, without the Tonya Harding option, what else does she have? To be sure, she will probably win Pennsylvania, giving her new media attention and reason to continue. Even so, taking everything else into account, it just looks good for our guy.