why obama keeps gaining momentum

Barack Obama keeps gaining in both state races and nationally because he’s remarkably consistent in tone, poise, delivery and focus of message. At stump speeches, town hall meetings, debates and interviews, he’s confident and consistent. It’s a tone he’s stuck with throughout the campaign, with some variations here and there, but nothing that veers too far from his “always looking forward, never looking back” campaign approach. Even when his campaign looked wounded after New Hampshire, he stayed true with his approach.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has run the gamut of tactics this week – and during the whole campaign. During the Texas debate, she was alternately snarky (the “change via Xerox” quip) and cordially conciliatory (her closing, known amongst Clintonistas as “the moment”). After that, she’s been harsh and attacking, pedantically mocking, calm and collected, and oddly giddy. It’s like she’s still trying to figure out which persona is the one that will work to derail the Obama momentum.

And then there’s the Bill factor: one week he’s the attack dog, the next he’s eerily silent. And no matter what he says or does, it doesn’t help matters – he’s a fly in the ointment of his wife’s campaign, which is to be expected when you have two political alpha dogs in the household, and only one can run for office.

The Clinton campaign is in a state of panicked free fall. They’re not accustomed to being on the skids without any traction in sight. There’s always been some sort of safety net along the way to bail things out, some break that goes their way. This time out, however, the lucky breaks have, to borrow a phrase from Paul McCartney, broken in two. So the campaign is flailing, throwing approaches around, hoping that something clicks with the electorate. It’s sheer desperation, and sad to witness. Hillary’s supporters, and Democrats, deserve better.

Meanwhile, Obama keeps soldiering on – consistent, cool and calm. Good on him – he’s the embodiment of a politician who gets it.