THERE'S ONLY ROOM ON THE UNICORN FOR ONE:

Obama May Be an Aloof President (Michael Barone, 12/27/08, Townhall)

Barack Obama and his family are vacationing in his native Hawaii, far from the wintry snows of Chicago -- and far from almost every other American politician. There's a metaphor here for how I think Obama is going to conduct himself as president: He's going to try to keep his distance from other politicians, including his fellow Democrats. I see him trying to remain aloof from his party, much as Dwight Eisenhower did five decades ago. Like Eisenhower, I think he's drawn the conclusion that his party needs him more than he needs his party.

What's my evidence for this? Well, for one thing Obama didn't do a whole lot of campaigning for his fellow Democrats this year after he clinched the party's nomination in early June. His monster rallies in the fall resembled his monster rallies in the spring: enthusiastic and adulatory crowds inspired by this unique candidate's oratory, without much attention paid to local Democratic officeholders and office-seekers.

Similarly, after the election Obama chose not to campaign for Democrat Jim Martin in Georgia's Dec. 2 Senate runoff -- the election that, depending on how the Minnesota contest turns out, could make the difference between 59 Democratic votes in the Senate and a filibuster-proof 60. Nor did he devote any significant attention to the two Louisiana House runoff elections Dec. 6, both of which Democrats lost.

Actually, the most revealing thing was that, whereas John McCain took a running mate who easily outshone him, Mr. Obama chose a cipher who he then his away from the public. He's followed up with a cabinet of featherweights, in stark contrast to W's team of governors and former chiefs of staff. And, of course, he neither campaigned on nor has he proposed any significant policies, which might detract from his Himness.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 27, 2008 8:33 AM