The main event: McCain vs. Obama
"What other candidate would begin his presentations with jokes about drunken Irishmen?" Don't know, but I wouldn't hold it against him, not being PC and all, like. It's John McCain, actually. Barack Obama has the gift of a different kind of gab, which is why wordstruck persons such as Rainy Day and Jacob Weisberg are saying, "Bring it on!". Here's Weisberg in January with the McCain-Obama similarities:
"Watching Obama and McCain in New Hampshire over the weekend, what struck me was how much they actually have in common. For all their obvious stylistic, ideological, and generational differences, both are anti-politicians whose fundamental argument is that our system is broken in ways that only they are capable of fixing. When McCain and Obama proclaim the need for 'change' in Washington, it is neither meaningless rhetoric nor a fancy way of saying throw the bums out. They are both focused on addressing flaws in the political process — the power of special interests, unproductive hyperpartisanship, and the habits of reality-avoidance that afflict both sides."
And Weisberg goes one further by adding a Machiavellian scenario in which Obama and McCain compete for the same running mate: "...the Democrat-Republican-Independent Michael Bloomberg, who plays perfectly to the pragmatic, political center that both would vie for and who could spend a game-changing amount of money on a presidential ticket that included himself." This race is to the centre as much as it is to the end. McCain and Obama are worthy contestants for the prize. Stephen Hayes also has a McCain vs. Obama feeling and says that The Battle Begins. He hopes that "it may be civil and tough at the same time." But not if the New York Times has anything to do with it, one suspects. More on that later. Meanwhile, clear the ring. Seconds out. Let's get ready to rumble!
