POLJUNK

After more than a week of Palin pandemonium, the Obama campaign is ready to strike back, and strike back hard with a series of attacks on John McCain and the Alaska governor's apparent flip-flops, lies, and general dirty tricks.

Part one is a new ad by the Obama campaign going straight for McCain's perceived strength: honor.

This is by far the hardest hitting ad from Obama and goes straight for the throat with lots of quotes from the media detailing the nasty turn McCain's campaign has taken. It will do wonders for the base who are nervous and itching for Obama to take the fight to McCain.

Part two is the unleashing of Joe Biden who will deliver a speech today called "Bush 44," a clear reference to their theme of McCain as continuing George W. Bush's policies. I, like many others, have been DYING for Biden to get out there and do what he does best, which is to dismantle the opposition with witty, incisive criticism. Old Joe has a lot to work with here, so much that he may have a tough time narrowing down the critique into something bitesize and quotable. Do you go after palin's laughable experience, or McCain's flip-flopping, or their combined support of Bush policies, or the obvious lies of their campaign? What about the fact that despite a rash of financial institutions going belly-up, McCain STILL says the "foundations of the economy are strong?" Which foundation is that? The one being washed away with the Chicago River?

Who everyone is waiting for though is the Clintons. Where are they? Why hasn't Hillary been dispatched to rally her supporters away from Sarah Palin? It should be an easy sell: Palin disagrees with Hillary Clinton on every single major policy issue. And what about Bill? That dude is the KING of attacks with a smile. It makes you wonder whether they even want Obama to win, doesn't it?

Obama going on the attack is great sport and will surely ease some of the anxiety among his supporters, but will it do anything to win back white women and blue collar white men who are flooding back to McCain-Palin as if those jobs they lost last year were no more important than Palin's ability to field dress a moose? I don't know. The consistent and illogical support for candidates and policies that fly in the face of economic stability and the rule of law is a mystery to me. Why some people actually find George W. Bush likeable is beyond me and why poor and working class voters continue to be swayed by Republican talking points makes me wonder whether it's not OK to be elitist afterall. All I know is it's going to be a long autumn.