If you're growing concerned about Barack Obama's prospects, take a moment to watch this video clip from the 1992 documentary The War Room. This clip if from the beginning of the film, when Clinton's primary campaign was sidetracked by allegations of extramarital affairs and draft dodging. The part of the clip to focus on is the end, when a Democratic consultant says he's sure the combined weight of the scandals will force Clinton out of the campaign within days, if not hours.
Of course, nothing of the sort happened. Likewise, today Barack Obama will survive these rough patches. He's the only candidate offering a real change this election, and these false guilt-by-association attacks just won't work. It's important to remember that Bill Clinton survived even tougher attacks -- and won the presidency. (They were tougher because there was more truth to them, and because they concerned Bill Clinton's own behavior, not that of someone he knew.)
Update: I inadvertently posted the wrong video clip at first. (I was on the phone -- shouldn't blog and talk on the phone at the same time, I guess.) So I'll correct the record and say the only thing you have to worry about is my own incompetence.
© Jed Lewison