Can the Obama Express be derailed?

The following is the lead paragraph in an AP story about Barack Obama and his winning the North Carolina Democratic primary on May 6, 2008.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama’s march toward the Democratic presidential nomination picked up support from four more superdelegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton - even as their primary marathon staggered on.

For several weeks, question after question has been raised about Barack Obama and his association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Questions have been raised about Michelle Obama and her true feelings about our country. Questions have been raised about Obama and his true feelings towards the common people of America.  Past presidential candidates have had their campaigns destroyed by questions such as these.  If I recall correctly, Howard Dean’s presidential campaign was flattened by his emotional outburst before Iowa.  Through all of this, it appears as if Barack Obama is incapable of being stopped as he moves ever closer to securing the nomination, despite anything Hillary Clinton can do to stop him.  Before I go on, I should make one observation about Mrs. Clinton. I mentioned to a gentleman I have dealings with at work, that it looked like Obama was going to be the Democratic nominee and he looked at me and told me to never count Hillary Clinton out.  Being from Arkansas, he has some very strong feelings towards the Clintons. Now, back to Obama.

I have felt for a long time that Obama would be the nominee on the Democratic side of the ticket.  It appears that nothing that he has said or done is going to be enough to keep him from the nomination and to be honest, I am not sure at all that John McCain can keep him from the White House.  McCain has a reputation of being a maverick and an independent thinker who does not necessarily toe the line with the Republican party establishment. That could be a good thing, I suppose, but he also has a reputation for something else that I believe will greatly hinder his chances of beating Barack Obama in November.

John McCain is very adamant about staying the course in Iraq and making sure we finish the job we have started.  While I agree that we certainly do not need to turn tail and leave Iraq, right in the middle of a process that is going to take more time than we all necessarily want, I am afraid the Republican party in general and John McCain in particular, underestimate the strong feelings a lot of Americans have against the war in Iraq. I believe they also underestimate the hatred a lot of Americans have for President Bush. It’s a well known fact that the Bush administration refused to listen to the military and follow their advice in Iraq. Had they stopped playing politics and decided to let our military do it’s job, we may have seen an entirely different set of circumstances in Iraq.  As it is now, we are in a war that is going to take some time to finish.

We are in a generation that wants and thrives on instant gratification. The American people are not interested in waiting years for the Iraq conflict to resolve itself and for our military to leave the country.  All they see, thanks to the mainstream media, is the lives that are being lost, both our own and those of the citizens of Iraq. They do not see the good we are doing and they want the war stopped, day before yesterday. They see a chance to do that in Barack Obama.  In John McCain, they are seeing four more years of Bush and we need to face the facts. Americans, as a whole, do not want another four years of George W. Bush.

So, can John McCain defeat Barack Obama in November?  I can’t answer that question, but looking at the way this election cycle is proceeding forward, I am afraid not. So far, everything that should have derailed Obama’s campaign seems to be rolling right off his back, like so much water off a duck. It is possible that McCain’s pick for Vice-President can sway a lot of people. It’s no secret that I like Mike Huckabee and he looks to be the perfect choice for McCain to counteract the Obama campaign. I am not sure even that will be enough and I do not want to see Huckabee on a losing presidential campaign, for the sake of 2012.  The truly sad part of it all is, we had a chance to choose someone like Mike Huckabee as our candidate and we didn’t.  It remains to be seen where that decision will lead us.

That’s my take!

Larry