In case you are worried that the Republicans will eat up an untested Obama on charges that he is an unpatriotic black Muslim leftist teenager, let us remember:
Hillary Clinton was the inevitable front-runner, almost an incumbent, twenty to thirty points ahead in the national polls fourth months ago, and failed against a rookie with no name recognition, partly because of her negative campaign. Before the Iowa caucus, Obama slipped ahead in the polls for the first time following Shaheen's insinuations about Obama's use (and sale) of drugs. All three campaign chief strategists (Trippi, Penn, Axelrod) went on air on MSNBC to discuss this. In the heated exchange, each of them reflected their candidates. Trippi showed backbone, readiness for a fight, and quickness to point out injustices when he defended Obama and attacked Mark Penn; Axelrod stayed calm and above the fray; and Mark Penn looked simply awful, like a petty, slimy lawyer full of doublespeak and ill intentions. To me, it was the beginning of the end.
Read More