Dems Finally Have Some Fun

After suffering through the frustration of having their nominee being attacked as too popular, too skinny and somehow strange for vacationing in Hawaii, the Dems have had a day of fun. John McCain's lifestyle as one of the rich and famous is laid bare as he fails to be able answer how many houses he and his wife own. For today and perhaps tomorrow, those Dems who had begun to worry about their candidate's rapid response and ability to attack can rest easy. The Obama campaign is playing this for all it's worth with a very fast ad and a lineup of surrogates in 16 states to continue the attack and keep the traditional and internet media focused on the wealth of the McCain's. Bloggers are spreading the idea of keys to be noisily jangled in Denver starting on Monday.

Such trivia does matter when it allows campaigns to frame issues in a light favorable to their view and when it contributes to the effort to influence the image of the opponent. The sad counter to this fun is that important news was made today. The Iraqis have gotten the Bush Administration to go for a timetable for the withdrawl of US troops. It turns it out that what the US Congress could not accomplish the Iraqi government could. They want us out in 2011.

The Democrats could and should be crowing over how the Bushies now follow their lead in foreign policy, but the deal's not quite done and it is so much easier to show pictures of the McCain's "ranch" from The Architectural Digest.

Personally, I mostly enjoyed how the story beat back some of the rambant VP speculation. It was getting very tiring.