The election between Fear and Fingers Crossed.

In a backassward way I am grateful for BHO. I would rather be spending my blog time defending Hillary from the cannon fire of the Right. But it did not work out that way.

Nevertheless, Obama is an interesting character. No, that's wrong - he's an interesting idea for a character.

There have been plenty of American Presidents that were were duds -Carter, Harding, Bucannon, Andrew Johnson. Plenty that have been serviceable, McKinley, Cleveland, Coolidge, and yes, Hoover. More than our fair share of greats - Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt and the oddly unsung Polk - who, in one term seized half of Mexico. For better or worse he made a hell of a difference.

We have also had a remarkable number that may not have been great Presidents - but had greatness in them. Either bad historical timing, and/or debilitating character defects overrode the potential for great administrations.

Eisenhower was a great man. He was a good President. Republicans would do well to revisit and rehabilitate him about now. JFK became one of our "greats" after being murdered. Still there was greatness in him while he lived. I would even argue that Nixon and Clinton had greatness in them - obscured and hampered by large personal flaws - though Nixon's were clearly more criminal in expression.

(The comparisons between JFK and Obama are false are wrongheaded. Even in his 30's and 40's JFK spoke with history at his back and a sense of his own ballast as a man. Obama's greatest speeches seem intent on obscuring his history and are temporal. They exist specifically to exact a change in one moment only. The "race" speech was an attempt to blot out 20 years of his life, not lead us any place new.)

There does not seem to be anything great about Obama. It appears more and more that there is no there, there. The argument that "he will surround himself with great people" is no good either. He hasn't yet. He does the opposite - he attaches himself and detaches himself from people like a mosquito - just long enough to suck some blood and move on. Besides the idea that Lincoln or FDR were great because of who they chose to work for them is silly. Great leaders instinctively choose great subordinates. So far Obama's people are yes men and hatchet men - and women. Obama is, more than anything, a creation. He's an idea of what a post modern, post racial, 500 channel entertainment-industrial complex, post baby boomer President should be. This is why the media loves him. McCain is the opposite on all counts. He looks like a one term fill in President, circa 1880, who will spend his evenings as President sauntering down Pennsylvania Avenue to a local bar so he can throw darts with Jack Murtha. So far McCain is running a very good Senate campaign.

This year is interesting, I'll give you that. This will not be an election between hope and fear. Obama does not inspire hope - I don't care how many "Warhol Obama Hope" bumper stickers there are out there. With the convinced his inspires delusions and with the not yet convinced he inspires wariness - soon to be weariness.

This will be an election between Fear and Fingers Crossed.

Could 99% of what has been written on this blog about Obama be wrong? Sure. Could there be a great President in the making with Obama? I suppose. But all the sound and fury continues to signify nothing. Which seems to be the way Obama likes it.