Pirate's Cove

Via John Dickerson at Slate

DOWNINGTON, Pa.— At the next train stop, I’m going to stand behind Senator Obama when he speaks. When he’s decrying the trivial distractions in politics, I think he may be crossing his fingers behind his back.

As the Senator’s campaign train wound from one speech where he denounced tit-for-tat politics to the next speech where he denounced tit-for-tat politics, his campaign hosted a conference call to engage in the practice the candidate was busy denouncing. I suppose it would have been an even greater act of chutzpah for the Obama campaign to host the conference call while Sen. Obama was denouncing that kind of behavior, but not much more of one.

Obama campaign aides scheduled the call to talk about Hillary Clinton’s fantastical story about her breakneck race to shelter under sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia. You might think this would be the last story the Obama campaign would be pushing, because in Wednesday’s debate the Senator mistakenly suggested his campaign had only discussed the issue because reporters had brought it up, not because they were trying to take advantage of Clinton’s extended work of fiction. To push the story again now would make Obama look even more insincere about that claim.

I’m guessing Mr. Dickerson is a Hillary supporter, but, perhaps he is just honest.

What Obama’s campaign comes down to is character. He is running 80% on his character, with a few soundbites about how he is going to jack taxes up on “the rich,” which means everyone who gets a paycheck, to pay for socialized health care, how he will talk personally with people like Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and retreat from Iraq regardless of the situation on the field of battle.

This is why, as so, so, so many conservative pundits, and Hillary’s campaign as well, have said that Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright and what he has said matters. Why Obama’s association with William Ayers matters. Why his “bitter” comment matters. Why the things he says matters. Why his initial refusal to wear a flag pin matters. Why the thoughts of his wife matters. All these things, and more, add up to his character.

Oh, and I leave you with this really disturbing visual (as I cross post at Right Wing News and McCain Blogs)

I did not photoshop that. I did not create it myself at Cafepress. I found that on a progressive (read “surrender monkey”) site, with many, many more that were similar. What is sad, and humorous, is that there are probably liberal woman AND men buying and wearing them.