McCain's Bulletproof War Record

syn·ec·do·che (sĭ-něk'də-kē) n. A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword). --The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition


The Obama Bloggers are something to behold. They are convinced that their man has superpowers. Here's Josh Marshall's take on how Obama should deal with the gauntlet thrown down by Wesley Clark:

He can keep repeating his praise for McCain's service and time as a POW, which he should do and is not in conflict in any way with anything that Clark said. What his campaign should not be doing is lending its imprimatur to the proposition that because McCain saw combat in Vietnam and suffered as a POW that he has the judgment to be an effective president.

Obama can't thread that needle. John McCain's war experience is political synecdoche. It calls to mind his years of post-Vietnam national security experience. He may be a scary neocon, but he's put in his time. The follow up question--What has Obama done?--Well, I don't think Barack wants to go there.

This economy is so very bad that Obama's best best is to try and ride it to the White House. He doesn't need people delving into his record as chairman of the Senate Subcommitte on European Affairs. That won't take long.