The Politics of Divorce

"First off, the man is an idiot. He's made these comments before, a lot. Remember how the Republicans kept saying that McCain's '100 years' comment about Iraq was out of context? Now that there's a pattern, it's a lot harder to discount. McCain has no desire to ever withdraw from Iraq. And he keeps claiming that that's okay -- the only issue we should be concerned about is 'casualties,' otherwise we can stay in Iraq forever. Really? You mean the $100+ billion a year we're spending/wasting on Iraq means nothing to Mr. McCain, the guy who claims that wasteful government spending is his signature issue? And the impact on our war readiness, the fact that our troops are now not ready to fight another war, should it arise, because they're getting so tired out in Iraq and Afghanistan, McCain is now saying that this is no longer a problem or consideration -- we can just keep them fighting forever, at no cost?"

The HuffPost says the WSJ piece didn't prove much of anything.

Some very different views of Barack are emerging on the right. Some, like the Weekly Standard's Noemie Emery, say the MSM are canonizing Obama:

"First it was Chris Matthews getting a thrill up his leg when he thought of Barack Obama; then it was Newsweek giving Obama a free pass on everything; now it is Mark Halperin over at Time warning that the Charisma Machine is going to roll right over McCain in November, with the media's hand on the wheel. How old McCain looks! How decrepit he is! How sick everyone (especially the press) is of everyone but Obama! How stunning he is! How inspiring he is! How 'valuable' he makes people feel, telling them THEY are the ones they are waiting for. How 'powerful' it will be when he debates John McCain on security issues, and comes out the better. How 'forcefully' Obama will 'move to the center as a mainstream, optimistic candidate,' celebrating both America's greatness, and 'change.' (And how great will it be when he ducks into the phone booth, and out comes . . . never mind.)

"Anything can happen, in the Belmont Stakes and in politics, and perhaps Halperin is right in saying McCain underestimates Obama's pizzazz, and the desire of the press to promote it. But it is also possible he overestimates both Obama, and the power of journalists, himself among them. Love is blind, or at least short-sighted, and there are some warning signs he has missed:

"The enthusiasm Obama arouses is surely amazing, but it is also contained and confined. In fact, it doesn't even move most of the Democrats . . .

"McCain does look old, and this is a problem. On the other hand, he looks like a rock, or an oak tree, while Obama looks more like a reed or a sapling, if not like a twig. He looks attractive, but not too substantial, not someone to look to in trouble. McCain looks as if he could stand up through a hurricane, while Obama might waft away on the wind. He would be better than McCain as an underwear model, but do we really need this in a president?"

On the other hand, in the New Republic, Bruce Bartlett, a conservative author who broke with President Bush, writes of others similarly situated:

"But it was hardly inevitable that this revolt would translate into enthusiasm for the Democratic standard-bearer. After all, you could see similar signs of unhappiness four years ago, and none of that translated into mass defections to the John Kerry camp. And, despite Ann Coulter's vow to campaign for Hillary Clinton over John McCain, the old bête noir of the right would have never attracted many conservatives. That's what makes the rise of the Obamacons such an interesting development. Conservatives of almost all ideological flavors (even, gasp, some supply-siders) have been drawn to Obama--out of a genuine affection and a belief that he may actually better embody movement ideals than McCain.

"There have been a few celebrated cases of conservatives endorsing Obama, like the blogger Andrew Sullivan and the legal scholar Douglas Kmiec. But you probably have not have heard of many of the Obamacons--and neither has the Obama campaign. When I checked with it to ask for a list of prominent conservative supporters, the campaign seemed genuinely unaware that such supporters even existed. But those of us on the right who pay attention to think tanks, blogs, and little magazines have watched Obama compile a coterie drawn from the movement's most stalwart and impressive thinkers. It's a group that will no doubt grow even larger in the coming months."

George Will sees a dim outlook for McCain:

"Because of his cultivated persona as a 'maverick' Republican, many--perhaps most--voters do not know he is pro-life. When the fact that he is becomes well publicized, and Democrats will make sure it is, Clinton's female supporters will stop sulking in their tents and will rally round Obama."