The Bizzaro Obama

It has been well reported that John McCain has a tremendous amount of disdain for Barack Obama. For months, he’s been a walking example of Jon Lovitz-as-Mike Dukakis from 1988: “How am I losing to this guy?”

Time and again, he’s let the American public see him sweat. Whether it’s his constant derision of Obama on the stump. His repeated accusations of treason. His condescending advertising campaign. All of his campaign tactics have had a single unifying theme. “I hate Barack Obama.”

John McCain is coming across as a third rate Gargamel.

Last week, he and his advisors clearly decided that they wouldn’t be able to beat Barack Obama and the phenomenon of his campaign. So instead, in a rash last minute deicsion, they decided to make a mockery of it.

Enter Sarah Palin. The Bizarro Obama.

In almost every conceivable way, Palin is a grotesque response to the Obama phenomenon.

Where Obama is attacked for becoming more popular than McCain in 48 months, McCain creates a political Bride of Frankenstein that reaches that apogee in 48 hours.

Where Obama is attacked for being a doctrinaire liberal, McCain selects a member of the radical religious right wing.

Where Obama is attacked for not having traveled to Iraq, McCain selects someone whose greatest claim to foreign policy is living across the Bering Strait from Russia.

Where Obama is attacked for spending his post-college years as a community organizer, McCain selects a corrupt, small-town mayor.

Where Obama is attacked for being from the "foreign" state of Hawaii, McCain selects a quasi-secessionist from the Petro-state of Alaska—and then praises her for being in touch with “real American values.”

Where Obama is attacked for having an exemplary record at the nation's top universities, McCain selects someone who went to five colleges in six years.

Where Obama is attacked for being young and inexperienced, McCain selects someone younger and less experienced.

Where Obama is attacked for somehow injecting the race card in to the campaign, McCain plays the gender card, loud, often and without shame.

Where Obama and his family are paragons of traditional values—and yet Michelle is attacked for being Obama’s “Baby Mama,” the McCain declares that the decidedly untraditional family life of his running mate is off-limits.

But there is one even more important contrast between the two--and it’s one that the American people will remember come election day.

Obama believes this campaign is about you.

McCain believes you are pretty stupid.