They think they can't lose

Barack Obama's consistent lead in the polls is having many assume he's got it in the bag. They might want to think again.

Much of politics is about selling one's brand. Obama's success has been through selling himself as a different kind of candidate, a change agent, and an optimistic bipartisan compromiser. The ammunition is there to blow this brand up.

Barack Obama had a chance to run a different kind of campaign and take public financing. He decided he'd rather take the money and run. He broke his word and took the money. He had a chance to have an elevated discourse with a dozen non traditional debates, but decided he was too busy with his conventional campaign. After saying he would debate John McCain "anywhere, anytime" he broke his word. All the big bipartisan compromises have been made without Barack Obama's help. Immigration, the judicial filibuster, Obama has been MIA. He has voted robotically with the leadership making no break with his party. The emperor has no clothes.

John McCain can show how he has been the change agent. He has lobbied for the successful surge strategy in Iraq. He has broken with his party on major issues like Immigration, climate change, and torture. He has achieved change with Campaign Finance Reform, tobacco regulation, scuttling the corrupt Boeing Deal, investigating Jack Abramoff and I have to invoke again his support for the surge while other politicians squirmed.

Now a simple question. can anyone tell me Barack Obama's position on Iraq? This week's equivocations coupled with the announcement that he will have more information for us after he goes to Iraq leaves the American people with a candidate for one of the two major parties without a clear position on Iraq just months out before the election. His position is in limbo.

The election will not be about John McCain. Obama is the dominant figure this year. There is 120 days before the election, the McCain campaign will take every opportunity to tell the voters about Obama's discredited campaign.