In an article out this morning, Time magazine super-star Joe Klein fits Barack Obama for a place on Mount Rushmore. As is usually the case with Klein, supersizing Obama is a way to supersize himself as well. But despite all the gushing, Klein's argument is basically accurate. Obama is cool under pressure and showed strong political instincts in dealing with Iraq, Afghanistan, and the financial meltdown. Likewise, the ways he's handled McCain during the debates has also shown that Obama has a really steely character underneath the inspirational surface.
A general comment on Obama. If Obama wins on Nov. 4, he will have beaten the two strongest politicians he could have faced--John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton got a lot stronger after her February meltdown, but Obama was able to claw back and maintain the slim lead he had earned in states like Iowa, Wisconsin, and Virginia. At the end of the long game with Hillary, he was able to pull out an impressive win in North Carolina.
What's happening with McCain is a little different. I've seen some recent footage of McCain on the stump. He's looking a lot better as a speaker than he did in June and has become a formidable candidate even as he's revealed his weaknesses. What we have now is John McCain at his best even though he's severely hobbled by having Sarah Palin as a VP pick.
However, Obama has improved even more than McCain. What the second and third debates showed was that Obama was better than McCain at his best.
In this sense, what's most impressive about Obama to me is that he's either beaten or is beating such high quality opposition.
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