Why Obama Matters

Dick Cheney's been running his mouth more than usual lately. In fact he seems to have his war swerve on and you know what that means: I'm afraid he's about to do something tragically stupid.

I hate to say it, but Cheney is energized like he was before Iraq. Nothing excites him like sending people into battle - as long as his plump behind is hiding at an undisclosed location. Don't get me wrong. He'll jump into the fight as long as he's shooting little birdies on some ranch, but that's about it. The rest is wind.

The reason he gets away with his inane ramblings is because the mainstream press has no balls - zero on this matter. If they did we might not be in Iraq. My fear now is that Cheney is going to try and tough talk us into another disaster. He's been doing that for days now, and I've been begging my TV screen for someone to step forward and call Cheney on his BS. Please! Anybody! Today it happened.

I have seen the future of political heroes and his name is Barack Obama. (The Springsteen reference was for Jack.)

Here's what Barark said to a rain-soaked crowd at a campaign rally. The topic was Great Britain's withdrawal from Iraq - which Obama believes is a realization that the military plan won't work:

"Now if Tony Blair can understand that, than why can't George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that? In fact, Dick Cheney said this is all part of the plan (and) it was a good thing that Tony Blair was withdrawing, even as the administration is preparing to put 20,000 more of our young men and women in. Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today. [It was raining.] When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems."

You can dismiss Obama's chances of winning it all, but if he can bring the Iraq War one day closer to being over - to paraphrase McGovern - then it will all be worth it. Meanwhile, if someone just has the nerve to call Dick Cheney out on his ridiculous tough-guy, chicken-hawk crap, well, then we will all benefit, and that person is an American hero. Barack Obama did that today and he even had a funny line about the weather. This could get good. Dick Cheney's people had no response. You know the Vice President. He's used to firing at quail and quail don't fire back.