Given the ecstasy of his own followers and the support he has had from the mainstream media in the United States, that event should have brought with it a sense of inevitability, an overwhelming tide of belief that he was now unstoppable: that the future belonged to him. It should, in short, have given him a real bounce in the polls. But it didn't. What he got was a very small spike.
The two polls taken immediately after Hillary's withdrawal speech (and her effusive expression of support for him) gave Obama leads so small as to be virtually within the margin of error.
Some of this could be put down to the disappointment of Clinton followers, which may be expected to dissipate over the coming months. But the other explanation is that Obama's support has peaked: that his coalition of the young, the urban liberal and the black community has already max-ed out at its highest point and is going nowhere from there.
We are having us some kind of storms here in the Midwest. Working men are fighting to put power back in the homes of working people. Many in Obama's camp are locked in with the Utility Giants here in Illinois. Billy Ayers' silver-haired Pappy was the CEO of ComEd. You say you wanna Revolution?
Every time a huge Public Utility (ComEd and Peoples Gas) gets its ears pinned back in Springfield by the State Legislature, corporate stooges like the over-paid fashionista ex-wife of Obama financial funder John Rogers - Desiree goes on TV and decries over paid Union Workers. ComEd has Illinois Senate President doing the boo-hooing for the profit devouring Utility and does not need Desiree - well, neither did John Rogers, but that is . . . another story. Desiree was a laugh riot a few years back when Peoples Gas was called on the carpet at City Council - she made the traditional blond look like a Phi Beta Kappan.
These 'over-paid Union stiffs,' like my pal Gino Ford, have not been home since Friday night. They are restoring power. They are skilled blue collar union tradesmen - And Women! They do not cause the rate-hikes, but they get blamed for them.
They earn their money, in the most exhausting and dangerous manner. They work with electricty - God's way of letting us know that you've gone too far: turn off the circuit before working with wire; don't commit murder in 1930's gangster movies; put the 9 iron down when the storm starts.
Electrical High Tower linesmen are not joined for beers after work by John Rogers, Emil Jones, Tony Rezko, or Desiree Rogers, let alone Senator Barack Obama. I have seen John McCain break bread and wind with blue collar men and women. John McCain, while a privileged son of an Admiral, has a deep and abiding respect for the trades and all working people.
Barack Obama gets along swell with academics and political players and that's nice.
A British Journalist, Janet Daley, records this fact and predicts a McCain Victory In November.
But it is also true that John McCain is not a market leader on economics. He, too, is from a privileged background. Interestingly, however, he seems more able to relate comfortably to ordinary working people than Obama.
This may well be a function of his background as a military officer who was conspicuously loyal to his men, having refused to abandon them when he was offered release from a Vietnamese POW camp.
And this brings me to what may still prove to be the most significant fact about McCain: he is a war hero. (Indeed, in this respect, he bears more of a resemblance to John Kennedy than does Obama.)
He has proved himself to be unflinching in danger and courageous under fire. When people (especially Americans, who still regard military bravery as an exemplar of virtue) come to choose the man to lead them through a crisis, that will count for a lot.
To European eyes (and to some American ones, too) this is an election to determine how America sees itself: can it elect its first black president? Can it present itself to the world in an entirely new guise - as a member of the modern European club of social democratic societies?
But to most Americans - the ones who are less beguiled by rhetoric and more concerned with financial survival, and those who need practical reassurance more than inspiration - this election will be about proven character and tested judgment.
Gino Ford is probably ass-dragging tired right about now, but certainly not bitter or clinging - he has a strong safety belt well-secured. At least the rain has put some gas money in his pocket. Gino Ford likes John McCain. Like me, Gino votes Democratic in almost all local races.
Janet Daley of the Telegraph ( U.K.) is sensitive to Gino Ford, unlike the loud-mouths on cable T.V. and radio - that's one good thing about a power outage.
Ms. Daley predicts a McCain Victory in November and so do I!
