Surfin' Safari

So, while Russian tanks are rumbling through Georgia, Obambi (thanks Cormac!) takes a page from the John Kerry playbook and allows himself to be photographed engaging in water sports. In Hawaii. Who exactly is running that campaign, the ghost of Lee Atwater?

Meanwhile, back in the United States, McCain has been running around polishing his foreign policy credentials to a high gloss while issuing grave pronouncements about Russian aggression that are sure to resonate with the hillbillies in the flyover states.

I think Obama is starting to believe his own press and is starting to fancy himself the second coming of Christ. (Or Neo from the Matrix, or something like that). What Obama fails to remember, is that despite the adoring crowds and hotties singing for him on youtube, he is coming into this election with three strikes against him: 1. he’s a Democrat; 2. he’s black; and 3. he’s intelligent. McCain is taking full advantage of his supporters innate racism and ignorance by portraying Obama as an effete, vainglorious elitist. Obama's response to these attacks? ? Takes a vacation in Hawaii in the middle of a European military conflict and spend his days bodysurfing at Waikiki. The Democratic Party’s circular firing squad tactics are in full effect this season, aren’t they?

Obama is being assisted down the path of self-destruction by the mass media. I uncovered this little gem on CNN.com today: “the images that are shaping Americans' lasting perceptions (of the Russia/Georgia dispute) are of a president playing in the sand with the women's beach volleyball team and the presumptive Democratic nominee alternately walking along Kailua Beach and playing golf in Hawaii.” Nice job, CNN, managing to link Obama with Bush, even placing them both on a beach engaging in frivolous activity! If only they could come up with a few photos of Obama patting the fanny of some tall girl from Santa Monica they could run it in a split screen in The Situation Room.

It appears that the main stream media has already decided the winner of the election. Witness the follow-up commentary from a paragraph or two later: “In contrast to both Bush and Obama, McCain conveyed strength and determination. While Obama timidly urged Georgia and Russia to "show restraint and to avoid an escalation to full-scale war," McCain took to the airwaves to deliver a blunt warning to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.” See, McCain is the real man. Obama is just a pussy. The problem is that Obama isn’t doing anything to make the case that this isn’t an accurate analysis. Ultimately, I have to agree with the CNN piece to the extent that perception matters: “If he fails to cut this holiday short, he might soon wind up being remembered as the guy who blew his chance to be president because he played on the beach while the Russian tanks rolled through Georgia.” Yup.