Cool? I Don't Think So.

Charles Krauthammer has once again written a very provocative and thoughtful column here. He thinks Obama is likely to win the election, despite his lack of executive experience, and despite his history of having close, personal associations with nefarious individuals like Jeremiah Wright, William Ayres, Bernadette Dorne, and Tony Rezko.

There was another presidential candidate in 1980, from the opposite side of the political spectrum, who, like Obama, scared a large number of potential voters, who thought he might be too radical. That man conducted himself in 1980 in a "cool, reassuring manner," writes Krauthammer. President Ronald Reagan was elected by a large minority over the failed incumbent, Jimmy Carter.

Obama is following the Reagan model, according to Krauthammer, showing that he has a "first-class intellect and a "first class temperament". What Krauthammer does not mention is that Obama, unlike Ronald Reagan, has the support of the unending drumbeat of the mainstream media.

Nevertheless, I believe Obama actually has a very thin skin, conditioned as it is by spending so many years stirring up the "poor me: I am a victim" movement in Chicago. Unfortunately, we don't get the chance to debate him, so we'll have to rely on the Maverick and the woman who is "takin' off the gloves and puttin' on the heels".

Update:I watched the debate tonight, and Krauthammer is right. Obama did a good job of keeping his cool.