One of the things we’re going to use this blog for is providing commentary and opinions on the constantly changing election campaign. With the VP announcements and nominating conventions looming, I think this is as good a time as any to take stock of the campaign thus far.

For months now, the American people have been deluged with polls showing a modest but consistent Obama edge. The electorate’s priorities remained remarkably stable, with a economic fears giving Democrats an invaluable advantage over their spendthrift colleagues on the other side of the aisle. With the dog days of summer upon us, the public’s attention turned to diversions like the Olympics, and in time many of us became complacent and content with the fragile lead our candidates enjoyed.

All of that changed as Russian tanks and aircraft commenced their barrage of neighboring Georgia. The often underestimated McCain campaign deftly seized on this opportunity to showcase their candidate’s perceived knowledge of foreign policy. At the same time, ads criticizing Obama for his celebrity-like following blared out of televisions nationwide. The conservative puppet Jerome Corsi issued another inaccurate and slanderous expose of Obama’s past, which promptly skyrocketed to bestseller status. Where was the Obama campaign’s political mastery during all of this? On vacation in Hawaii.

The last straw perhaps was Pastor Rick Warren’s faith forum at the Saddleback Megachurch, where Obama, fresh off the beach, appeared overly nuanced and unable to answer Warren’s questions with the same pointedness that characterized McCain’s replies. Today polls show all of these events have eroded Obama’s once dependable lead, making the race a virtual tie.

Political minds, like the ones who read this page, tend to fret over news like this. They see the decline in Obama’s numbers and immediately begin second-guessing their nominee’s abilities, skills, and even intelligence. Many wonder “how could the same Obama who executed arguably the largest upset in Democratic primary history now be tied with a delusional, trigger happy, out of touch conservative sellout?” For those of you out there who share these worries, I want you to remember a few things.

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A couple weeks back, I published this as a Facebook note. I’ve edited it a bit to reflect changes since it was first written, but otherwise this is identical. Here goes:

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These days we’ve been hearing a lot about the possible running mate choices for Barack Obama. Given that the campaign has kept its selection process extremely quiet, one needs to remember that any rumor about Obama’s preferences is hearsay at best. All the talk notwithstanding, I believe that Obama needs a governor to add executive experience to his resume, and could best do that by selecting Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

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On behalf of the GW College Democrats, I’d like to welcome you to our new blog, The Blue Line. Although it looks pretty bare at the moment, in the coming weeks we’ll be featuring all sorts of commentary and thoughts from your Executive Board. We hope you’ll enjoy our blog and return often to check out the latest posts as this historic election approaches!

-Matt