Posted 8/11/2008

IS OBAMA SUFFERING RETTONITIS?

Is Barack Obama beginning to suffer Rettonitis?

This is a term I coined which refers to the overexposure received by Olympic gymnastic star Mary Lou Retton following her smashing victory in the 1984 Summer Olympics. In order to win the all-around gold medal, Mary Lou had to score perfect 10s in her last two events. She did. Her final vault was extraordinary.

She instantly became America's sweetheart, and big commercial endorsements quickly followed. Soon she was seen everywhere. On TV. In newspapers. On billboards. She even had full-length placards in stores. Everywhere you turned, there was Mary Lou Retton with a big smile on her face.

Suddenly it all ended. "I'm sick of running into Mary Lou Retton everywhere I turn," complained Mrs. Consumer.

Is this happening to the political campaign of Barack Obama?

Are Mr. and Mrs. Voter getting sick of seeing Obama everywhere they turn?

It seems to be the only logistical explanation for his sinking poll numbers.

The electorate is so sick of Republicans, with their stupid war, sinking economy, record deficits and go-it-alone foreign policies, that Obama should be leading a dull old man like McCain by 10 to 15 points in the polls. But McCain is running neck and neck.

Pundits claim Obama's flip-flopping has hurt. Maybe, but McCain has performed some enormous flip-flops himself.

Some Hillary supporters feel Obama has played the race card, but he has too many white votes to support that claim.

Some claim he is too inexperienced to be trusted with the Presidency. But the same was said of John F. Kennedy, who won both the nomination and the election against a far more experienced foe, Richard Nixon.

Some explain Obama's problems in terms of social class, that he talks down to us older, fatter folks who can't speak French or Italian – we who are too dumb to buy small cars and inflate our tires properly. Certainly Hillary got a lot of traction by showing up in factory bars and downing a shot and a beer on occasion. But she still lost.

And Obama's problems cannot be excused for lack of funding. He has raised far more than McCain and has vastly outspent his slower-moving Republican rival.

According to some reports, Obama now "owns" the Internet because McCain and his advisors are old-fashioned pen-and-pencil guys who haven't the vaguest idea about email, instant messaging and YouTube.

But this may be the clue to the problem. Obama has so much money (and so much liberal press adoration), he can be in your face all day, every day – just as Mary Lou Retton was in 1984-1985.

It's just possible that he got to 1986 a lot quicker.

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