I hate to admit it, but Dana may have been right that Hillary Clinton would be a more difficult candidate for John McCain to defeat in the fall. I never thought so, given her past and inability to speak the truth. I thought Barack Obama would be a much more formidable candidate, because as a "clean, articulate African-American" (the words of a Democrat), he could present the face of black America that appeals to guilt-laden white liberals.
And, in fact, that's what Obama did for months. Mr. HopeN'Change was so inspiring that man-crushers have gone to great lengths (and are willing to take great lengths) to defend the guy. And we aren't really talking about just supporting various political positions. Guys like Jeromy Brown support Obama in all sorts of other positions, too.
Unfortunately for Jeromy and all the giddy girls squealing over Obama, Mr. Post Racial may have peaked a bit too soon. I guess Jeromy would know about that, too.
The survey suggests that Mr. Obama, the Illinois Democrat, may have been at something of a peak in February, propelled by a string of primary and caucus victories over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, and that perceptions of him are settling down.
Mr. Obama’s favorability rating among Democratic primary voters has dropped seven percentage points, to 62 percent, since the last Times/CBS News survey, in late February. While that figure is by any measure high, the decline came in a month in which he has come under withering attack from Mrs. Clinton and has had to respond to reports that his former pastor had made politically inflammatory statements from his church’s pulpit in Chicago.
What this means is that Obama looked great when we knew nothing about him, his beliefs, or his past, but as those things become well-known, he becomes a less attractive candidate. And, frankly, he should be a less attractive candidate. This is a man who thinks having children is punishment, he supports criminalizing free speech, he has previously championed quotas (see previous link), he has wanted to ban guns, support pornography, and wants to raise taxes and back out of the war in Iraq. One or more of these positions will get him in trouble in the general election.
Lefties will (and do) scream that we can't "paint Obama as a racist" because he supported Rev. Wright for 20 years, but the fact is that there are only two explanations for Obama's presence in Wright's church: either he supports Wright's positions--some of Wright's positons somewhere--or he used the church as a cynical attempt to look "black enough." Either way, he's a liar. The question that should be asked (and won't be) is, "Which of Rev. Wright's positions do you agree with?" I won't hold my breath waiting for that one.
The truth is, we don't have to worry about painting Obama as a racist. His positions will turn off enough people.
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