Poltics, Politics, Politics: Ken Mehlman, Barack Obama , John McCain, and Mitt Romney

The GOP meltdown: Ken Mehlman says Republicans need to take responsibility for losing Congress:

"If we shrug our shoulders and say, 'It was just a fluke, a perfect storm of factors out of our control,' then we will lose again in 2008," Mehlman told the Republican Governors Association at its annual meeting, as he prepares to step down from the RNC at the end of the year.

"If that is the approach we take, then we are destined to spend far more than one term in the minority," Mehlman added. "And we as a party will deserve it."

Does it have to be Hillary? Maybe not. Barack Obama is probably going to run for president as the "I'm not Hillary Clinton" candidate. Tom Bevan has thoughts:

Consider just how meteoric Obama's rise has been. In 2000, he lost badly to Bobby Rush in the Democratic primary in Illinois 1st Congressional District. Four years later, with only about a month left in the 2004 Democratic Senate primary, Obama was running tied with Dan Hynes for second place, ten points behind gazillionaire Blair Hull - until the frontrunner's campaign imploded in mid-to-late February amid revelations his wife had filed a restraining order against him for abuse (I think he admitted kicking her in the shin during a spat, if I recall).

Barring that last minute turn of events, Obama would still be an Illinois State Senator and two-time loser for higher office that no one in the country had ever heard of.

Instead, Obama won the primary in March and went on to give an excellent keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in August. Just like that, before he'd even officially been elected to the Senate, Obama became an overnight sensation and suddenly morphed into presidential material among Democrats and the media.

McCain's Straight Talk Express. Sort of. Candidates often hire political consultant to do their dirty work. One of John McCain's consultants is Patrick Hynes, who runs a blog called Ankle-Biting Pundits. (More about Hynes here; McCain's already paid him $31,500.)

If you want to know what the McCain team thinks are Romney's soft spots, go to Hynes' blog. Today the top three posts contain negative "buzz" about Romney. McCain will never stoop to the level his consultants will, but he knows how the game is played. So for the latest McCain-sponsored anti-Romney buzz, check this space!

More Romney: Article VI Blog comments on religious name-calling in modern politics.