Campaign News Roundup

Is Barack Obama too hip for his own good? John Dickerson wonders if Obamaniacs will stay faithful: "Isn't the generation that Obama has so successfully courted usually the first to toss overhyped products, even the overhyped products with which they were at first so enthralled?" Slate also publishes a letter from a cynical, hip ex-Obamaniac who's dumping Obama for being too cool.

Doug Kmiec thinks Catholics will buy into Obama-as-Messiah hysteria, too. Crunchy Con and National Review's The Corner scoff at the idea.

After a depressing couple of weeks, Hillary Clinton scrambles to hold her supporters together, contrasting "speeches" with "solutions," and "Yes, we can!" with "Yes, we will!" Some Democrats still consider dumping her and switching their allegiance to Obama, while other Democrats vow to stay neutral. Peggy Noonan suggests honesty as a campaign strategy: "When everyone in America knows you're in a dreadful position, admit you're in a dreadful position." Clinton is leading in Ohio polls and may have a victory to anticipate in Texas, depending on which poll you read.

Good news for John McCain: He gets endorsements from George Bush, Sr., and Mitt Romney. Bad news: The candidate trumpeting campaign finance reform could use some campaign cash. McCain is adopting some unorthodox fundraising techniques and challenging Obama, who's currently rolling in dough, to keep his promise to run a publicly-financed general election campaign.

In the New York Times, Gail Collins says McCain is caving on issues like economic recovery and torture. His campaign dismisses allegations that his vote against an anti-torture bill is inconsistent with his anti-torture statements.

Mike Huckabee's quixotic campaign finally gains some media attention ---- for his paid speech in the Cayman Islands and for an IRS investigation of a pastoral endorsement.