I think Obama's a smart talented guy whose instincts mostly point him in the right direction.

There would be other losses ahead, disappointing setbacks in Ohio and Texas that would prolong the nomination battle for three more months. "After Ohio and Texas, my attitude was: We will win this thing, but it will be painful, and let's figure out what we need to do to execute and win," Obama said, adding that he told his staff and supporters that "it probably shouldn't be this easy for me to win, that we probably do need to earn this thing, because we're going to have a tough time, should we get the nomination, against Republicans and we need to have one of these under our belts."

 -Ernest Hemingway

I think that this sort of strategy can work in the dot-com start-up world, and it can sometimes work in the political realm if there's a lot of media support.  

And you get to know a pol not merely by WHAT they oppose, but WHO they oppose. Know thee by thy enemies and all that.

So far he hasn't fought bankers, people on Wall Street, insurance companies, or the proponents of indefinite detention.

I've found that professionally this strategy has worked well.  I have almost no enemies in a very politically charged environment.  At the same time I'm viewed as a rockstar for having some of the biggest wins in the industry.  

Somehow, they seem not to be noticing what the winning compromise is...what they could sell across the board and actually achieve a good result.

If I were Obama, I'd call a HC (that's healthcare, not Hil Clinton!) summit at the White House and suggest we offer the public the same options that congress has.  I could sell that all day long.  Easy.  

Obama's primary & GE successes were partly due to his effective campaign team, and to his delicate positioning slightly to the left of Hillary followed by his huge swing to the right against McCain. But what really got him elected is a disaffected public looking for a savior to fix our country. Many on the left were frightened of what BushCo had created and desperate and fearful for our country's future. In strides Obama with his lofty speeches, fitting the bill for Change in a way that Hillary simply could not. Hillary's establishment ties were no greater that Obama's, but he managed to solidify his Change meme before all the Chicago politics came out and well before voters grasped that his bipartisanship meant giving the right wing what they want. The perception was that the Obama campaign was supported by little kids and old people, as well as millions of us liberals, while Hillary was backed by big business and the Clinton machine.

The Yes We Can movement was well in place when he faced down the formidable challenge Hillary presented. By that point, it wasn't Obama doing the fighting, it was the movement. Once millions of people were caught up in the dream, Obama was unstoppable.

Just look at what Reagan and Bush were able to do, one with a mandate, the other with a squeaker. They simply beat the crap out of the Dems....... because they were seen as "leaders." When Obama went bowling in Pa. he was seen as a panderer; when Hillary knocked down those boilermakers with the blue collars, people flocked to her.

So, no, I do not think he is a true fighter in any sense of the word politically.  I do not think he has the ability to say to the opposition: you have had your chance, you have proven yourselves full of sh*t, and we're going to steamroll right past you on this issue.

It's so funny.  I love it.  

The "Hillary was wobbbed" whinnng.

4 individuals posted bitter comments last night about the primaries, and I didn't even read half of the comments on half the threads.

Stop moping. Get over it.  Bill and Hillary have.

On the other hand, keep moping, the comedy and unintentional self-parody is priceless.

His achilles heel, so to speak, is that he is a super talent and works extremely hard at the win win solution. It usually works for him so he tends to rely on that approach above all others.

His biggest failure in this regard was in June when he went to the Saudis to entreat them to support his Israeli/Palestinian peace initiative. They laughed in his face.

"'Did [Hillary] outfight [Obama] in the [first] half of the primary battle [when she was miles and miles ahead]? Not really.'"

I guess no one watched his health care press conference where the focus of his proposals were clearly on the failure of insurance companies to limit costs by eliminating needless, duplicate testing.