Maybe not:

Think about it this way: if aging hack John McCain, unable to enthuse his own base, running after a disastrous eight years of a George W Bush Administration in the face of an utterly hostile mainstream media, a collapsing economy, and the as-yet undetermined aftermath of an unpopular foreign war, can still be near or within the polling margin of error, this is not a liberal nation, or one panting for an Obama administration…

One way to spin defeat?

And Rich Lowry sagely reminds us that Republican Reaganism and Democrat Clintonism are, by some strange chance, closely related when it comes to the economy at least.

What I can’t assess is what President Obama might do when confronted by a major terrorist attack directly on US interests. Or another crude power-play by Russia aimed at a small NATO ally such as Estonia. Or a massive Hamas/Hizbollah onslaught against Israel.

What are his instincts in such situations?

He comes from the steely Chicago School of politics, so he is no pushover. But is there in his consciousness a predisposition that it is wrong to hit back hard against terrorist villains? That the perpetrators of outrages are themselves ‘victims’?

And, if so, will his unease at being portrayed as ‘soft’ overcome that soon enough?

If he wins, how long will it take us to find out one way or the other?