Michelle

I’ll go out on a limb and agree with Gary and praise Michelle Obama. Even odder, Albert the Pollster, a died-in-the-wool Republican, says she hit a home run. Albert says undecided voters are set-in-stone determined to get shed of Bush-McCain – and all that’s holding them back are their doubts about Obama. That, ‘He’s not one of us.’ Michelle talking about her momma and daddy bootstrapping up out of the Southside of Chicago sounded to Albert like his Lithuanian grandmother talking about boot-strapping up out of the Bronx.

He says it’s a heck of a storyline for an election: Chicago meets Bronx. African American mom meets white immigrant grandson. Old white men get the boot.

Beverly

I’m afraid this is going to sound brutal, but Beverly Perdue may one-up John Edwards as North Carolina’s shallowest politician.

Ms. Perdue’s bragging she saved North Carolina’s military bases from extinction – when, in fact, what she did was parade around in a P.R. stunt.

Also, oozing sincerity, she says she’s fighting tooth and nail for health care, and adds she never thought for one minute North Carolina’s disastrous mental health reform plan would work – but she also never once, in four years, said a word against it or lifted a finger to stop it.

She’s pounding herself on the back bragging how hard she’s fought to put new technology in schools – but she never lifted a finger when the state absconded with $748 million in fines and forfeitures that by law should have gone to the schools’ technology fund.

Most curious of all she says the reason she never lifted a finger to, say, stop the mental health plan she knew was a disaster, is because as Lieutenant Governor she’s not even on the Council of State – but, the problem is, she is.

By all rights John Edwards – with The National Enquirer’s endorsement – will win the ‘Shallowest Politician’ award hands down. But he’s sort of put himself out of commission while Bev’s still out there thrashing.

Kay and Liddy

Rounding out the year of the woman, there’s Kay Hagan and Elizabeth Dole.

Ms. Hagan’s blasting away at Ms. Dole with an ad that, unless you listen carefully, sounds like Liddy is 93 years old and in her dotage. Not very ladylike – but what can Ms. Dole do – say she’s only 72?

Unfortunately, the best thing about Dole’s response is the three seconds of Hagan’s ad on the front of Dole’s ad – after that Dole’s ad is all hearts and flowers and moonlight sonatas. Liddy says, She’s got firepower, and says she’s saved the farmers and the economy (which sounds a bit odd right now) and stares wistfully out the window at what looks like sunrise. This is the kind of ad candidates love to see on TV about themselves.

So, Liddy’s running a paean to her firepower while Kay is beating her brains out running $6.5 million in negative ads which is sufficient to fracture anyone’s image and, in fact, is fracturing Dole. (Hagan’s Democratic pollster friends are bragging tarring Dole has rocketed her into a three-point lead in the polls even Hagan wouldn’t have said was possible a year ago.)

Elizabeth Dole is in a knife fight with a first-rate gang of cutthroats. She’d better stop mooning around like Florence Nightingale.

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