But seriously, is it just me or does Obama resemble Alfred E. Neuman? Not near as funny as Alfred but they seem to have the same sense of self.

The arguments that I have made in the past, and on this thread: For McCain to succeed, he has to capture the independent vote, are voiced in a detailed and robust article by Jonathan Rauch in The National Journal. Unfortunately, the Journal is by subscription only, so the link is ethereal and has to be captured as a PDF file now…

Some of your readership will activate their gag reflex with paragraphs such as these:

But the healthiest news of all is McCain’s emergence as the presumptive Republican nominee. Of all the Republicans in America, McCain is best positioned to undo the errors and correct the excesses of Bush-era Republicanism. If the Bush years were snakebit, think of McCain as an antivenin.

Not all Republicans see it that way, of course. Some would like to see more ruthless partisanship, more fiscal recklessness, more polarization, more presidential monarchism, more erosion of U.S. credibility on human rights, more immigration-bashing. Wiser Republicans, though, know better. They understand that the Big Four of post-Reagan, post-Gingrich Republicanism — President Bush, Vice President Cheney, former White House strategist Karl Rove, and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — steered the party to a dead end.

Perhaps I can sum up the Grand Old Party’s dilemma:

Will there ever in our lifetime be a politician that will run a campaign under the banner of “Compassionate Conservatism”?

I agree with Skippy on this one – I don’t see the race in the bag for either party or candidate. I think that McCain will find support from those who admire his service to country even if they do not agree with his politics but I think a lot of that hinges on who he chooses as his running mate.

I think that many who are currently enamored with Obama who will find that he is ” but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

So we shall see…we shall see.

That’s my bumper sticker, and I’m sorry to say that I mean it, quite seriously.