Now it seems I may have been right. You’re not actually reading, are you Justin. I haven’t mentioned Obama once in this post, nor in the comments until you brought him up. Classic misdirection. There is no defence of that Palin idiot, so all you can think to do is point at someone else and flap and scream and shout BAD MAN BAD MAN BAD MAN!

You have no idea what I think of Obama, do you? You can’t, because I haven’t told anyone yet. So I will.

For me the difference is more to do with competence. I can see McCain and Palin badly damaging America, either through their nonsensical plans to bail out banks with taxpayers money and then also to cut taxes to appease their base. I also see them as being capable of thoroughly isolating a country rather desperately in need of international goodwill as her financial power crumbles and diplomatic currency fails.

As for Obama, will he change much for the good? Well I don’t really think so. I think he is much cannier than those two and will avoid the potentially massive blunders they might make, but I don’t think he’s going to shit gold or anything silly.

His u-turn on FISA was a key sign that he is as cynical a politician as the rest of them – actually, I see him as America’s Tony Blair: stylish, intelligent and charismatic but actually far, far further to the right than people seem to think. And far more cynical that he is being given credit for.

In fact, I think this is why a lot of the more pragmatic and intelligent conservatives are ebbing away from McCain – because they see Obama as being a perfectly acceptable conservative president. I would agree. I think a lot of people on the left, once they get over the personality cult, are going to be rather disappointed. Clinton was like this too – his economics were basically Republican in many ways, and his attacks on oversight of government positively Rovian.

So there are two reasons I think people are enthusiastic about Obama: some are swept up in the hysteria, as you rightly point out, and some simply recognise that the Republican choice is a very poor one at this point. This is one of the reasons why Blair stayed in power for so long. He moved easily far enough to the right, particularly economically, that the conservatives (as opposed to the partisans) liked him and in so doing he wrong-footed the Conservative party so effectively that for ten years they were fighting an 80s political fight in the 00s.

This does look like what is happening to the Republicans. Obama is a very centrist candidate who appeals to the moderates on both sides. So he’s not going to ‘change anything’ in particular, as you say, but he has crucially changed his style to the extent that the Republicans have not adjusted and are fighting the wrong fight.

I hope that was helpful, Justin. Now, how much for that property in Kansas? Is there a deck?

Do you think Obama is going to “change” America? You think anything will really change in any event? Are you really that naive?

In that case, great! I’ve got some oceanfront real estate to sell you in Kansas. Hundred grand, easy deal chief.

You do not deserve the vote, you fucking idiotic troglodyte. Piss off to Iran or China and give the fucking vote to someone who will appreciate it and make sensible use of it.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike or critcise Obama, and Messiah Complexes of any sort get on my nerves something chronic. If your vote is decided by being vaguely annoyed with some person or other then you don’t deserve it. If you’re going to vote against Obama then do it for his shameful u-turn on the snooping act, or at least something real.

At times like this I am reminded of David Cross: “Terrorists hate our freedom? I hate our freedom – is this all we’ve done with it?”

Yeah, right, like it matters anyway.

But, the woman has taken quite quickly to the pitbull image and has since made crazy statements and allowed even crazier ones to be said at her public appearances — with no censure, (statements such as “kill him,” “treason” and ‘terrorist” to be yelled from the crowd were made towards either Obama or Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground and now a Professor of Education and a neighborhood activist here in Chicago.)

Agreed, Matthew, McCain is the real whore here. And the winking …. it was sickening, a nation would cringe if only it could see that Sarah Palin isn’t the same person as Tina Fey.