I'm puzzled by Hillary Clinton. The New York Times quotes her saying "One of us has faced serious Republican opposition in the past -- and one of us is ready to do it again." What I don't understand is how she can claim to be ready to defeat the "Republican attack machine" when she can't defeat an opponent, Obama, who isn't attacking her at all.
It is also puzzling that Team Clinton hasn't found a way to pierce Obama's aura. Her characterization of him as an inexperienced speechifier hasn't stuck. His characterization of her as a representative of the "old divisive politics" has stuck. In fact, Senator Clinton would prefer more divisiveness in this campaign. Obama's self-discipline is remarkable so far; he has remained "on" his upbeat "message". But then, he's got nothing to lose, he's not supposed to be in the lead.
McCain's victory speech last night prefigured the line of argument he would make against Obama in the fall. It is basically a rehash of Clinton's line of argument. However, McCain might be a more credible person to mount this criticism of Obama's lack of experience. I suspect Obama will be able to draw out McCain's temper (as he did in the kerfuffle over "ethics reform"), which makes the senior Senator look like an angry old man.
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