Rope-a-dope

Well, I love any reference to the Rumble in the Jungle, and casting Obama as Ali and both the Clintons and McCain as Foreman, well, I'm in heaven:

...His most brilliant rope-a-dope of the entire campaign was against Bill Clinton in the spring. In a newspaper interview, Obama cited Ronald Reagan as the last transformational president. He didn’t mention Clinton. The former president was offended by being implicitly dissed, took the bait and unleashed a series of unwise public scoffs at the young Democrat, culminating in a dismissal of Obama as another Jesse Jackson. Suddenly, black Democrats abandoned Clinton’s wife, and the Clintons’ base collapsed. Obama merely stepped out of the way as the Clintons self-destructed. He didn’t just end their campaign; he helped to bury their reputation.

And that’s exactly how Obama has handled McCain...

Andrew Sullivan at (London) TimesOnline.
(Of course, Foreman came back, went through dark times but then made a complete personal transformation. The Clintons and McCain are welcome to do the same. I figure Bam Bam will be in his second term by then.)