Barack Obama: The grain of sand in the conservative oyster

Obama blew into town on the diaphanous wings of a high-sounding but virtually meaningless slogan - hope and change - and proceeded instantly to heed the bugle that sounded a call to move sharply to the left. As it turns out, the bugle was sounding only in his own head - or, to be fair, only, in addition to his own, in the heads of those politicians and activists who parted company with reality years ago, determined to avoid any contact with it in the future save for the occasional savage recontre required by the tedious necessity of the democratic political process.

As practically any sane person could have pointed out, Obama's lurch to the left has prompted an equal and opposite reaction by voters moving to the right - and given the extent of the president's overreach, the rightward migration has been huge. Obama may yet prove to be the greatest catalyst for a revival of conservatism since Reagan - and how I will laugh if this does, in fact, happen.

A case in point is Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin businessman who had not seriously thought about running for office until the advent of Obamunism compelled this modern-day Cincinnatus to enter the fray. He is now ahead of 18-year veteran Democratic senator Russ Feingold in the polls and stands an excellent chance of ousting him. Politico opines:

Feingold needs Obama, even if he has appeared reluctant to share the stage with the president. Specifically, he needs Obama to recapture the imagination of young voters who put John Kerry in 2004 and Obama in 2008 over the top in the state with big turnouts in Dane County, and among other activists on Democratic turf.

If you're depending on that, Russ, then prepare to kiss your political career goodbye.

(H/T: NetRight Daily)