This says it all.

A really good question: when exactly were things so great in Barack Obama’s mind? (Oh, the last fifteen or so months.)

John McCain has figured out that unlimited access with national mainstream media doesn’t pay off; local media is a different story. But the double standard for MSM huffiness is plain: how much time does Obama give them? The MSM can’t even bestir themselves to insist on basic information about Obama’s past.

McCain isn’t easing up on the surge: “The surge has succeeded. Yet Senator Obama … commits a grave error by insisting that, even in hindsight, he would oppose the surge. Even in retrospect, he would chose the path of retreat and failure for America over the path of success and victory.”

It’s not bile, it’s planning ahead. The 2012 campaign starts in three months if The One loses.

For a campaign heavily dependent on the youth vote, you have to keep the mystique of The One going. What happens if he’s like every other flip-flopping, promise-breaking politician?

A must-read from Peter Mansoor who concludes: “The surge has created the space and time for the competition for power and resources in Iraq to play out in the political realm, with words instead of bombs. Success is not guaranteed, but such an outcome would be a fitting tribute to the sacrifices of the men and women of Multi-National Force-Iraq and their ongoing efforts, along with their Iraqi partners, to turn around a war that was nearly lost less than two years ago. ” It seems excusable not to have foreseen this, but inexcusable not to understand it in hindsight. Unless you are engaged in willful ignorance.

Dog bites man: Obama runs an old-style attack ad.

And more evidence that civility and nonpartisanship is for other people, not The One.

David Broder intones: “McCain’s offer of weekly joint town meetings still stands. It is not too late for Obama to change his mind and take up this historic offer.” It is more likely The One really never intended to give voters further opportunity to see him in off-the-cuff, unscripted settings with his rival. If you’ve ever seen an Obama press conference you know why.