When Bill Clinton got into trouble in South Carolina for comparing Barack Obama's win there to Jesse Jackson's, he did so with a comment that started, "That's bait too". He then proceeded to take the bait, hook, line and sinker. Bill Clinton was the great communicator of his day. He knew that a great way to make headlines and dominate the news cycle was to say something controversial, let your opponents seize on it as a misstep, and then proceed to slice and dice them once they take the bait.

Senator Obama, when he gets his campaign into its natural swing, is the new, great communicator. He showed his naturals strengths in dominating the news cycle during January when he baited the Clintons with the comments on the Republicans being the party of ideas and Reagan being a transformational figure in a way that Clinton was not. He showed that he was able to respond to attacks and turn them around to illustrate his own strengths and abilities to cross party lines, attracting independent voters.

What is amazing about Senators Clinton and McCain is that, for all their years in politics, they can't see the bait when its laid. They are so eager to jump on their opponent and so fearful of him that they jumped on his most recent statement in California, once again giving him the opportunity to lay bait and switch. 

This news cycle that has just started is going to earn Obama votes. It may take a few days to sort itself out, but Senator Obama's comments about bitter folks in places like small town Pennsylvania is a comment that perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the moment and shows how we are at a turning point in America's national conversation about issues such as religion and race. It also shows how Senator Obama is a potentially transformational figure, something the people are desperate for. 

Americans are desperate to move their national political conversation beyond such stalemate issues as abortion, guns, and morality issues that have nothing to do with the way the country is governed and whether peoples lives are improved. They have nothing to do with them because they are polarizing issues that divide people regardless, often, of race, creed, class, and religion. They enable a punditry and political class that exploits these issues to the detriment of progress on anything else.

For those who do not want the country to make real progress, guns and religious issues are perfect. Some politicians would love to have elections always decided on disagreements over guns and religion. And Senator Obama is calling them on it. Events such as the Iraq war, problems like the deficit, and the decline of America's standing in the world are alerting the public to the fact that there are much more pressing problems that they'd like to talk about, if only a politician could circumnavigate the shoals of the usual political bogeymen.

Senator Obama's speech in Terre Haute, Indiana in response to the brouhaha over his remarks in San Francisco to fundraisers about small town bitterness shows that he is person for the job. Thanks to the cooperation of Senators Clinton and McCain, he is able to do so while simultaneously making them look like prisoners of the political past. He laid the bait in San Francisco. In Terre Haute, he reeled the fish in by saying the following: 

People don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody is going to help them. So people end up voting on issues like guns and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. They take refuge in their faith and their community, and their family, and the things they can count on. But they don't believe they can count on Washington.

To appreciate the crowd’s response and to understand the nature of the political abilities being flexed here, it’s helpful to watch the entire part of this speech. People are nodding their heads while Obama speaks. They’re agreeing that this is what politicians do – make rabble rousing speeches while the chickens are being raided by the wolves. When he makes his final point, they give him a standing ovation.

People are bitter. They see no progress on the most important political issues of the day. Deficits are going up. The war in Iraq is never ending. Politicians are doing the bidding of lobbyists. Corporate welfare is subsidizing companies like Haliburton and Blackwater, which make millions off a war that was started on false pretences. No healthcare for millions. Low paying wages. The natural response is to seek refuge in religion, the right to bear arms, issues that can restore some sense of control for a person living in an out of control world. Senator Obama is speaking the truth. He can thank Senators Clinton and McCain for helping him sharpen the focus, taking the bait and showing the public a real difference between him and his opponents.