In case you missed it at RCP: Why Obama is in Trouble

By Jason Wright, Editor

Filed Under Race for White House 2008 on Aug 12 

There was a very interesting piece yesterday at RealClearPolitics called Why Obama is in Trouble. It’s worth a read, I assure you. And I can’t wait to hear what our liberal-leaning readers have to say about it.

August 11, 2008
Why Obama is in Trouble
By Steven Warshawsky

There is palpable anxiety, even despair, among many Republicans and conservatives over the possibility that Barack Obama will be elected president this November. This anxiety is being fueled by the mainstream media’s fawning coverage of Obama’s every word, while shamelessly downplaying John McCain’s campaign; by public opinion polls that purport to show Obama “leading” the race over McCain; and by political commentators, on both sides of the aisle, who believe this is the Democrats’ “election to lose,” based on historical cycles, an uneven economy, high gas prices, continuing opposition to the Iraq War, and President Bush’s dismal approval ratings.

I don’t share this anxiety. For months now, I have been reassuring my right-leaning friends that Barack Obama will not be elected president. If I were a gambling man, I would buy lots of McCain stock on Intrade. Why am I so confident that John McCain is going to win the election? In short, because Barack Obama is not an acceptable choice to lead the country. Let me explain.

Read the rest.

Comments

  • pbrower2a

    It’s wishful thinking, folks. Nothing more. Strange things can happen, but they can break just as easily one way or the other.

    I think that Obama will win because Americans tire of eight years of any style of administration and the associated personalities. John McCain has shown his association with the same economic interests that supported George W. Bush over the last eight years… and he is neither Andrew Jackson nor Ronald Reagan. George W. Bush is the most unpopular President in years, and his only value to the GOP campaign is his ability to charm the usual special interests into writing checks. Former President Bill Clinton has far more value to Obama than Dubya has for McCain.

    John McCain is not an inspiring speaker, which he must be to convince Americans that he isn’t what the Democrats call him: “McSame”. Barack Obama is an inspiring speaker, and he has shown unusual resiliency. He isn’t Mike Dukakis, and he isn’t John Kerry. After eight years of a President who mangles both the English language and basic logic while failing to ‘get’ the American political tradition, more than 50% of Americans will want the antithesis.

    Don’t get me wrong; Obama can lose this Presidential race. That would require just about everything going right for John McCain from now until November. Obama must make a catastrophic choice for the VP, make huge gaffes in speech, get caught in a scandal, or utterly melt down. Maybe there has to be an ugly demonstration at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this year as there was in 1968 in Chicago. Maybe his campaign staff misbehaves somewhere, which explains why George Allen (R-VA) is an ex-Senator.

    The dirty-tricks machine is still in place as it was in 2000 and 2004. The Swiftboaters are tossing trial balloons as truth; Karl Rove remains clever and competent as well as extremely devious.

    But remember — just about everything has to go right for McCain. Note well that the Obama campaign is going to take the kid gloves off and use the “Bush-McCain ” connection at every possible chance.

    Obama is far from having this election wrapped up. McCain wins if he wins every State that neither Gore nor Kerry won. But some of those states are very iffy.

    McCain must win CO, OH, VA, IN, FL, and NC — all of which are tossups and are likely to be tossups in November. He can’t finesse his way to victory; he must take high-risk efforts to beat Obama, and those can blow up.

    The Democrats are likely to make big gains in the Senate, which suggests that the partisan makeup of America is very different from that of 2000-2004.

  • http://yesletstalkaboutthis.wordpress.com Jonathan

    Way too much on here to respond to just in comments — maybe I’ll have time to write a post. But just a quick one-off:

    “In his brief tenure in the U.S. Senate, Obama has compiled a consistently liberal voting record, and was named the Most Liberal Senator for 2007 by the National Journal…John Kerry was named the Most Liberal Senator for 2003 — the year before he lost the 2004 presidential contest to Bush.”

    Does this strike anyone else as a remarkable coincidence that the National Review would rate Democratic presidential candidates as exceedingly liberal? Is the National Review even in the least bit credible for evaluating this sort of thing?

    http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15015.html

    • Redstate Eddio

      Credibility, smedibility, Jonathan.

      Why is NRO credible – as opposed to the MSM, who have proclaimed themselves the unbaised arbiter of cultural and national perceptions and attitudes, all the while leaning decidedly on one side and fawning all over 1 candidate?

      Of course, the NRO would label Barack liberal. Wouldn’t a place that aligns itself with conservative values be qualified to point out things like that?

      For all of Barack’s “centrism”, call out how often he either compromised on a postion in the name of bipartisanship or worked out negotiations with his colleagues from the other side of the political aisle that did not line up with his own party’s aspirations. The crickets are still chirping on that one.

      BTW – Your link is to a website that proclaims ‘free Obama yard signs’, and advertises “If abortion is illegal women will be treated like criminals”. Gee, I wonder how “neutral” that is…

  • kristen

    Excellent piece; well stated.

    Obama is so out of touch.

    • joe gores

      Very true, Barry is an empty suit. Wake up America, as it’s getting later ever day. we can’t afford barry as President. The Democrats are killing this country with aid to illegals, no oil drilling, increased tax measures and arrogant people like barry as a potential President!!!

  • Redstate Eddio

    Obama’s nbomination, and even Kerry’s before it, serve as clear signals that the US Democratic Party has been hijacked by the extreme left elements of the American political spectrum.

    Searing analysis. That’s gotta hurt The Bus.