One thing is clear. . .

. . .to me now that John McCain's nomination is all but official: I have a lot to learn about Barack Obama. If the Democrats ever figure out his natural edge over Hillary, it's likely that she won't win another primary or caucus. However, to our eternal good fortune, it's more likely that the folks who back Hillary are so blinded by their loyalty to her that they'll never realize how much easier it will be for Republican nominee to undermine her candidacy. So, they'll support her all the way to the convention, and there will be considerable political carnage along the way.

Obama's biggest advantage over Hillary in the general election is that, where his history is largely a blank slate to many observers, nearly every conservative has a virtual PhD in Clintonology. One need only make a list of all the prominent figures and events of the Clinton administration to have a huge well of opposition research to exploit. Obama's history is relatively obscure -- filled with people and organizations whose names are largely unknown to all but the most diligent of political junkies.

Thankfully, as the nomination slips from her grasp, Hillary can be counted on to do whatever it is that needs to be done to reassert her claim on it. The entire decade of the '90's is strewn with the careers of would-be obstacles to the Clintons' grip on power. There's no reason to believe that she would hold anything back in her resurgence.

So, the question isn't whether or not the Clintons will attempt to destroy Obama. The only question is whether or not Democrats will allow them to. It could very well be that any attempt to savage the "Walking, Talking Hope Machine" will backfire by reminding Democratic voters of all that Clintonism represents, including all that was required of them in the name of loyalty. After all, it's one thing to invite the drunken brother-in-law to the family reunion. It's entirely another to invite him to the next one after he embarrassed the whole family the first time around -- particularly if he's already exhibiting the kind of behavior that created the initial embarrassment.

Both candidates have extraordinarily glaring weaknesses, and either one is imminently beatable. The biggest difference is that, with one, we know what kind of political knife fighting to expect. With the other, we have to do battle with The Riddler.



UPDATE: The creator of the above image was kind enough to stop by and leave a comment. As a result, I can give full credit to Cibbuano at moviecritic.com.au. Cheers!