If Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination, it looks now as though he'll have to be ready to face Romney or McCain. The former will mimic and belittle Obama with an onslaught of economic jargon and slights far beyond what he has endured from Hillary or Bill Clinton. And McCain won't play Mr. Nice Guy either.
Barack Obama has a lot to offer this country. He and Michelle may indeed be nicer than Hillary and Bill Clinton -- at least for now having not been pummeled by the Republicans for decades. That would give anyone a crust. But where's the backbone and verbal agility that can beat today's Republicans? Their machine isn't a bulldozer; it's a shredder.
Sympathy is a soft, short-lived passion. It helps a bit at first, but fizzles to nothing, or worse disappointment. In politics, if you can't respond to adversarial remarks with intellect and wit eventually you're toast -- even with a dual Kennedy endorsement.
That's why Bill Kristol was pro-sympathy-for-Obama Sunday on Fox -- criticizing Juan Williams for being insensitive, which he wasn't. Kristol sang a different song last year when he was on the attack. Republicans are actively promoting the sympathy theme to keep Obama unpracticed and to get Clinton out.
If Obama is nominated, a lot of us will be wishing he'd been allowed more solo verbal sparring practice. How else is he going to prepare for the ugliness ahead? How else is he going to win?