THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Posted at 8:47 a.m. ET

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."  Wasn't that the line from "The Wizard of Oz?"

Apparently, the Obama campaign has learned it well.  Have you noticed that virtually everything the opposition brings up is called a "distraction" by the Obama camp?  Rev. Wright?  Distraction.  Bill Ayers?  Distraction.  Connection to a Chicago criminal?  Distraction.

Now we have the mother of all distractions.  Behold:

WASHINGTON, Pa. — Republican John McCain showed off his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in this key battleground state Saturday as Democratic rival Barack Obama's campaign aired a new TV ad urging voters not be distracted by McCain putting a woman on the GOP ticket.

Nothing to see, folks.  Nothing to see.  Move along, please.  Pay no attention to that woman on the ticket.

Obama and running mate Joe Biden, meanwhile, stumped in Ohio Saturday. At the same time, their campaign unveiled a 30-second national TV ad that says McCain's selection of Palin should not obscure the fact that McCain candidacy represents a continuation of President Bush's policies.

"So, while this may be his running mate," an announcer says with a photo of Palin on the screen, "America knows this is McCain's agenda." The visual then switches to a shot of McCain and Bush. "We can't afford four more years of the same."

Fellas, this is getting tiresome.  George Bush isn't on the ballot. 

What is remarkable about this ad, and other aspects of the Obama campaign, is the contempt that is shown for the American people.  Don't the Obamacans realize that people know that McCain is very much his own man?  Don't they realize that Americans know, especially after her Friday speech, that Sarah Palin isn't running to advance the Bush administration?

Simply calling Palin another distraction reveals a campaign that is tired and stale.  And why shouldn't it be?  The Obama campaign is remarkably lacking in substance or originality.  The Palin pick caught them off guard.  They responded with a patronizing cliché.  You know, they could lose this.

August 31, 2008.