By Steve Rhodes
BREAKING 3 P.M.: There is a verdict in the Tony Rezko trial. The judge plans to read it at 3:45 p.m. today. Head over to Division Street for updates and witty observations.
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Protean Enigma Wrapped in a Rorschach Test
“On the cusp of becoming the first African-American to capture a major party nomination, Mr. Obama remains a protean political figure, inspiring devotion in supporters who see him as a transformative leader even as he remains inscrutable to critics,” Michael Powell writes in the New York Times today.
“He has the gift of making people see themselves in him and offers an enigmatic smile when asked about his multiracial appeal.
“‘I am like a Rorschach test,’ he said in an interview with The New York Times. ‘Even if people find me disappointing ultimately, they might gain something.'”
The Strategy
“Almost from the beginning, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s superior name recognition and her sway with state party organizations convinced Barack Obama’s brain trust that a junior senator from Illinois was not going to be able to challenge the Clinton political machine head-on,” the Washington Post explains.
“The insurgent strategy they devised instead was to virtually cede the most important battlegrounds of the Democratic nomination fight to Clinton, using precision targeting to minimize her delegate hauls, while going all out to crush her in states where Democratic candidates rarely ventured and causes that were often ignored.”
It was a strategy, the Post says, that exploited the arcane rules of delegate allocation while ignoring the popular vote and shutting down Michigan and Florida.
The Political Odds
“The chance that Barack Obama selects Hillary Clinton as his running mate: 10 percent. While the notion has gained some steam in the media and she reportedly says she’s open to it, it’s still hard to wrap your head around.”
See what else the Beachwood oddsmakers have to say.
Cult Credit
The Post also credits David Axelrod for devising a campaign based on personality, not policy.
The Making Of A Candidate
The reality of Obama’s narrative is not that simple.
Urgent Obama Announcement
Another Great Moment
Dancing on Ellen
This Sizzled
This Not So Much
The Beachwood Tip Line: Crush on us.
Posted on June 4, 2008