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John McCain came out with this ad today:



You know how, usually in political attack ads, the opponent will be represented with a grimacing, unflattering photo? It's just funny to me that even in McCain's attack ad, Obama is smiling and handsome. And not in a celebrity-caricature sort of way. Just in a friendly, cool way. Does he ever Not look like a good guy?

Meanwhile, Barack Obama's got this one up:



A lot of people have gotten very excited about McCain's housing gaffe, because we're actually seeing Obama and the Democrats draw blood with it. It's nice to win a cycle after a looong august slumber.

The obvious conservative complaint is, "ah look at Obama reneging on his whole 'new politics' schtick."

There's a huge conception out there among Obama critics that, fans of his are all these hippie dreamers who think Obama is this saint who's gonna politics happy and hopey. It's a big implication in the 'celebrity' line of attack, too; that us fans are emptily cheering for this pretty rock star or something.

But that's really not the case. The passion for Obama among me, and my friends and family and folks around the country, is rooted in his intellectual honesty. And rooted in the instinct that this is a serious man who is logical and responsible about how to approach the world. Sometimes logic dictates that you gotta get ugly. True in politics, too. And we're seeing that cool, rational, genuine toughness on display.



(P.S.: On the Obama-using-the-truth-to-play-hardball front, I can't wait until the debates, and we can have this conversation again.)