Personally, I've always felt that Hillary was the tougher obstacle for Barack to get past in his quest for the White House. She was Goliath to his David and we all just witnesssed how brillantly he used his superiour talents and abilities to bring down the strongest brand name in contemporary Democratic politics. Now he moves on to confront a candidate that does not even begin to present the challenges and talents that Clinton just did.
So....
Obama in a Blowout: The Presidential Election Will Not Be Close
By Guy T. Saperstein
What we are going to see in the general election from McCain is a ton of mistakes. The very thing the press likes about him, his candor and shoot-from-the-hip style, is going to kill him when the full weight of media attention is trained on him. He never has been a good speaker with a prepared text (last night, his speech was characteristically wooden, with several word confusions). The media has always loved the quick, gritty, candid McCain, but that version is gone; he now is a damaged, slower-thinking McCain, but his habits will remain the same. He will still try to be the quick wit, the maverick; it just isn't going to work. And while McCain is still capable (with help) of firing off some zingers that hit, he will be unable to sustain a narrative -- or fool the American voters -- for the next five months. This is not just about being 71; it is about being a very old 71. It might be sad to watch, but I for one will have no sympathy. There is too much at stake.
Obama is the perfect candidate for Democrats, and a nightmare for McCain. Obama, who by every metric is a brilliant strategist, thinker and speaker, is going to run circles around McCain. McCain, who is not a very good speaker even on his best day, will appear slow, befuddled and confused; he will make gaffes. Obama will be charismatic, smart, thoughtful, high-minded, alert and substantive. It will be no contest. And adding to Obama's natural advantages, McCain has just enough integrity to try to match up with Obama on issues. In that debate on substance, Obama's overwhelming intellectual superiority and mental alertness will become obvious. There will be the believers, who have jumped aboard the Obama campaign and will continue to multiply, but there also is going to be another type of vote that is going to swing heavily to Obama: the default vote. Voters are going to default to Obama because it will become obvious that McCain simply is not up to the task of being president.
This is going to be the first not-close presidential election since 1988. You heard it here first.
Am I saying that we can take this election for granted? Nope, far from it. We have to go forward as if Barack is 10 points behind because the repubs are going to throw the kitchen sink and more at him (much more) in hopes of derailing him.
Also, working extra hard to ensure his victory will generate the landslide down ticket that will truly go a long way in helping begin the transformation this country so desperately needs after these 8 looooooooooong years of Bush.