“He somewhat hastily promised to meet with the world’s most dangerous leaders in his first year in office”
Is that objective language? The majority of the Democrats agree with Obama point of view, but not if it was worded that way.

“After promising to build diplomacy with our enemies, he announced that he would bomb our tentative ally Pakistan to root out latent terrorists”
Is that seriously fair?

Thank you very much for your comments. (Again, I invite you to email me at dkthomp@gmail.com so we can continue this conversation.) Many of your points were helpful clarifications. But sometimes, I think you misunderstood some points I was trying to make. Let’s visit each of your ideas.
1) I never said Hillary and John didn’t agree with Obama’s controversial statements. In fact, I said that even I agree a little with Obama on each of his “gaffes.” But they were mistakes inasmuch as the media pounced on them and turned them into negative stories. I don’t endorse everything pundits like Chris Matthews say–but his opinion is important because it helps to shape public opinion. That’s all I was saying.
2) This is a good point, and a helpful clarification. You’re absolutely right that Obama was talking about al Qaeda, and I should have made that more specific. I hope that when people click on the link I provided, they’ll find his exact quote to understand the circumstances of the statement.
3) Again, this is a good point. Obama did talk about his health care bargain, but he framed it in a way that many Detroit people found confrontational and critical. To be clear, I wholeheartedly agree with the policy of expanding health care in exchange for updating our fuel economy. My point wasn’t that Obama was wrong–my point was that his speech was ineffective, according to most media accounts.
4) Obama and Clinton are running very close among black voters. But I’ve read she’s winning. Here’s a pretty recent piece from the Dallas Morning News you can check out: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories/DN-dems_09nat.ART.State.Edition1.423752c.html
5) I totally agree with you that it’s too early to call the election for sure. I’m sorry if my article made it look like we can just skip ahead to January. But Hillary is polling over 40 percent nationwide. Nobody was even close to that in late 2003. History repeats itself, for sure. But 2003 is not the best analogy for 2007.
I have one last point to make. I really appreciate you reading the article and taking the time to contest my points (thank you, Internet journalism!). But many of the points you called “dishonest” and “trash” were actually just misunderstandings. For example, I never said that Hillary and Edwards disagreed over Pakistan. I even said I agreed (somewhat) with Obama about Pakistan. I want you to read my articles and feel free to call my points dumb. But I didn’t trash Obama in this piece. I called him inspirational; I agreed with several of his policy positions; I even praised his awesome suits. And then I offered reasons why I thought he remained a distant second. Let’s not lose the forest: One year from today, odds are that either Hillary or Barack will be on the cusp of ushering in an administration that values universal health care, education and responsible foreign policy. If we’re both Democrats (not a huge assumption), that’s a victory for both us. So when I critique Obama’s campaign strategy, I’m not trying to slam anybody–I’m just trying to offer a fair assessment. I don’t think that’s trash.

Obama is going to have a very hard time rising above the attack style politics that both sides have become so good at. He will likely end up with some serious battle scars, but whether or not he can maintain a “politics of hope” through it all is yet to be seen.

1. Hillary and Edwards agree with Obama on Pakistan.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132×3421230

1. Hillary and Johns agreed 100% with Obama’s position on Pakistan
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132×3421230
2. Obama didn’t say he wouldn’t use nuclear weapons in all instances. He said he wouldn’t use nuclear weapons against fighting terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, something no one is in favor of doing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20093852/

3. Obama offered the health care for hybrid plan in congress last year and when he spoke to the automakers in Detroit.
http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon2007-05-09ng.html
4. Obama is leading Clinton by eight points among black voters. Furthermore, he ended up with 80-90% of the black vote in the Illinois primary. Anyone in Illinois knows Obama can appeal to black and working class voters.
5.In the Democratic primary ,Joe Lieberman was ahead in the polls this time last election. Clinton is nationally known.
http://thecrossedpond.com/?p=1177
What matters now is organization and fundraising. Obama leads Clinton in fundraising and is building an extensive network of volunteers.