The Top Gun election

Tomorrow night Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island get their say in the Democratic campaign (and, as a sideshow, McCain can clinch the Republican nomination).

Now that it appears Obama may be (knock on wood? Disclosure - I'm supporting Obama right now) the Democratic nominee, I thought it might be time to discuss a campaign side-angle that I think is interesting: namely, the fact that this stands to be the Top Gun election.

On one side, we have John McCain, a.k.a. "the" Maverick. He cannot be contained by party label - he thinks for himself, and party identification be damned. He is reliably anti-tax, yet resisted the Bush tax cuts; he claims to be against government power/influence but supported McCain-Feingold's astonishing restrictions on speech. He is, in short, as unpredictable as Tom Cruise's character in Top Gun - a guy who doesn't fit the labels, but we like because frankly he "feels" what is right and does it (even if we sometimes disagree). Like Maverick, McCain survived dark moments of insurmountable odds (for Maverick, the loss of Goose; for McCain, the dire days of his campaign in the fall of 2007). And now American is ready to tell him that he can be our wingman, anytime (okay, that last one is a reach).

On the other, we have Barack Obama, a.k.a. "Iceman." He is inherently cool -- he doesn't lose his temper, he plays perfect tactics on the campaign trail, and responds to every attack immediately and thoroughly. Like Iceman, he is supported by "Hollywood" (or, in this case, will.i.am and the rest of the "Yes We Can" Hollywood-video crew). He's a formidable competitor, a brilliant politician (fighter-pilot)....and let's not forget: Iceman won the Top Gun competition.

Now, for the sake of our country, I hope this campaign doesn't involve a shirtless volleyball match between oiled up candidates.