Blaglash.com

Now that Obama is the general election candidate, the media has been focusing on a McCain vs Obama deathmatch; the Huffington Post is featuring “FearWatch ‘08″ and the Washington Post just published this op-ed, calling Obama an “opportunist”.  So the knife is definitely sharp on both sides, as they say.  It is funny, to me, to read the stories in the media about these two media darlings.  The press famously loves McCain, and I think the press was falling in love with Obama during the primary.  But now, those loves duke it on on respective newspapers and newsblogs, resulting in some funny shit. 

So like, on the Wapo homepage, there’ll be headlines, and they’ll say such things as:  “Why Obama Will Win” and “McCain’s Core Strength” and these headlines will be right next to each other.  And while I am glad there is a diverse set of headlines to choose from, they are so radical and usually so off-point that I recently left a comment on a wapo story that said: “this is literally the worst crap I’ve ever read.” 

And while I believe that opinion skews writing opinions are unavoidable, is it fair to publish something on a crapping NEWS website that discusses why you think McCain’s a better dude than Obama?

So what’s the difference between opportunism and realism?  I think this difference, to many pundits, is weighed by results.  Obama’s decision to opt out of public financing was the right one.  He already has a lot of money from the public!  He is able to spin this, and use the results of his decision to his advantage.  Is opting out of a broken system for a grassroots and more effective system opportunist or is it pragmatic? 

On the other hand, Obama’s support of the FISA bill, granting retroactive immunity for telecom companies, is political opportunism.  In my opinion this decision was made in order to reach more right wingers.  This is a good story about this issue.

Regardless, Obama is moving to the center and it might piss people off while his movements might also attract voters.  It’s a strange conundrum.  While I do think he will win the election, I wish the election could be like, tomorrow, so we would be spared from all the intervening action.