Barack Obama certainly needed to launch a preemptive strike against the Republican attack machine, though I think the credibility of his anti-smear website would be enhanced if it were not written at a grade-school level.
His campaign is firing a concurrent warning shot at the mainstream media. We know from the primaries that Obama's message of change doesn't wear well. Hillary Clinton was able to smoke him out on substance, and many voters found him wanting. His problem is that even if you like what he says he's going to do, there's no reason to believe he can do it.
It's essential that Obama not allow reporters to seriously question his qualifications. He can't let himself be morphed into Dan Quayle with a bigger vocabulary. To that end, his surrogates, like vice presidental wannabe Kathleen Sebelius, are beginning to suggest that every criticism along such lines is a racist smear. His bloggers can be counted on to chime in from the cheap seats.
You can't seem to get elected president these days without effectively exploiting the media's spinelessness. Biographical smoke and mirrors are necessary but not sufficient.
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