Reply #31: Nice post. Believe it or not, some of us Obama supporters see

[TwilightGardener]

him as not so much as a pure and holy truth-teller, or an idealistic do-gooder, or Messiah, but as a really shrewd, skilled politician and strategist, same as Hillary supporters seem to admire her for her obvious political skill and tenacity. This might sting a little, but I admire the fact that such a "newbie", with no machine and few connections just 4 years ago, was able to put together such a well-oiled organization, and schmooze and network to get some big honchos on his side, and raise/manage so much money--against all odds and against some of our most seasoned political pros. When he made mistakes, he learned and adapted on the fly and improved his game. And even in his week of crisis (not even of his own doing, except by association), he stepped up, was tough, faced the cameras and microphones, didn't whine, didn't disown a good friend, and made the most of a damaging situation with an historic speech, the one that everyone said would be his most crucial ever, that his candidacy depended on (no pressure there)--and he surpassed expectations once again, in his own words, no less. I have a lot of confidence in his ability to win in the General election, based on past history.