Obama is Right On Cue

For a year now conservatives have complained that Barack Obama speaks well but never really says anything.  The complaint has been voiced loud and often that Obama supporters have nothing but feel good rhetoric to point to.  Indeed, when asked what Obama has done or said that they support, virtually none of them can point to anything except "change" and feelings.  It certainly cannot be denied that Obama has been a master at inspiring people.

Of course Obama has a record, albeit a thin one, that can and has been examined.  And every conservative that’s taken the trouble to look has come away with the same thing.  Obama is a liberal.  Not just a run of the mill liberal but the most liberal member of the Senate with dangerous ideas.

It has, from time to time, been predicted that Obama could not maintain his feel good advantage.  As the campaign advanced his true beliefs would inevitably come out and he’d pay the price.  Ultimately Obama would be forced actually start saying things and taking real stands and as that happens Obama would be revealed for the liberal elitist he really is.

Right on cue Senator Obama has been obliging the prognosticators on the right.  Every time he opens his mouth and says what he actually believes, there is hell to pay.

This latest flap over middle America is just one example.  You’d have to be living in a cave to not know at this point that Obama believes those of us who are deeply religious, or who cherish our second amendment rights, only hold those views because we are bitter over having the economic carpet pulled from beneath us.

Both Clinton and McCain have been making hay over these remarks, and well they should.  Of course Clinton comes across as completely disingenuous when it comes to guns and religion.  She’s big on gun control and as far as anyone can tell, isn’t even slightly religious, her claims to the contrary not withstanding.

As the campaign moves forward, expect more of the same.  Obama believes what he believes.  While he may be a master of rhetoric, he can’t hide his true beliefs when he’s forced to take positions.  He claims to have chosen his words poorly but it is difficult to imagine how his point would have changed with different words.  He really believes rural America is populated by ignorant, superstitious people who feel powerless and so cling to their superstitions and guns to maintain the illusion that they actually have some power.

It’s sad really.  Obama has spoken about his Christianity and how Rev Wright lead him to Christ.  But he apparently sees Christ as some kind of mental crutch that allows you to make it through an otherwise miserable existence.  If that’s what being a Christian was all about I wouldn’t want any part of it and I can’t fathom why Obama would either unless his Christianity and church membership have been more about politics than faith.

The bottom line is, Obama has peaked.  He may have some high points yet to come but his campaign is on the decline.  Does that mean he won’t win the Democrat nomination?  No, he’s likely got it sown up already.  Clinton will win Pennsylvania handily but Obama will win other contests and Clinton will not catch up.  The hard core Obama supporters will not be swayed by any amount of revelatory statements on his part.  They will follow him to the end.

Where this really matters is in the general election this November.  As that vast moderate center hears more and more of these Obama revelations they will, virtually in lockstep, move to the McCain camp.  Many of them would naturally be drawn to McCain anyway and this just cements the deal.  There is the potential for a McCain rout of Obama come November assuming McCain doesn’t do anything to blow himself up.

In related news, everyone is waiting with baited breath for Jimmy Carter’s endorsement of Barack Obama.  One more nail in the coffin.