doug:

I find Phillip Butler’s piece to be amusing because he acts as though this election is a referendum on McCain when we already live in the Obama Era. Even if (and hopefully if) Obama loses the general election, we’re still in the Obama Era because his personality effectively dominates America’s political landscape. Love him or leave him, this election is all about him.

Given how Senator Obama’s superb marketing has given his presidential campaign an immense “stage presence” in American culture, the way Obama markets himself becomes a legitimate campaign issue. Senator Obama’s campaign iconography becomes a legitimate campaign issue.

Although this election appears to be about electing an American president, it is also a referendum about the nature of that political office. Are Americans voting for a prime minister or for a god emperor? And lest anyone think the term “god emperor” is mere hyperbole, remember that it was not I who placed that halo upon Senator Obama’s head; that halo is found in Senator Obama’s official campaign literature.

I think John McCain is not the first choice of most Americans; the questions are whether he is an adequate candidate and whether he is an improvement over Barack Obama. Although opinions obviously differ on this issue, Senator Obama’s penchant for using dirty tricks in politics ought to give voters pause. When a man invalidates the petition signatures of rival candidates so he becomes the only man on the ballot, he may be acting legally, but his use of such a sleazy tactic calls his moral character into question.

As a candidate for Louisiana governor in 1991, Edwin Edwards is remembered less for who he was than for who he was not. Likewise, John McCain will be remembered less for who he is than for who he is not.

Vote for the hothead. It’s important.