Obama continues to show -- and throw -- stones

I hate to fall in with one of the two "glamor candidates", but for a senator whose first term has been characterized by an excess of caution, Barack Obama is showing some surprising balls of late. First he refused to back down to the Clinton campaign's ridiculous demand that he return David Geffen's campaign contributions, and yesterday in Austin, Texas, not all that far from the Bush/Cheney backyard, he went after the Dark Lord himself:

In his 35-minute speech, Mr. Obama took sharp aim at the Bush administration, at one point ridiculing Vice President Dick Cheney for suggesting the decision by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw 1,600 troops form Iraq was a positive sign. He noted the U.S. is sending another 22,000 troops in.

"Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today," he said amid the Austin rain. "When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems."

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cheney said Friday that he had no comment.

Damn right Cheney had no comment. Not even a man who believes he can create his own reality can run from his own documented words.

Good for Obama. Every time he does this, he gains more support. Even if it ends up meaning that he and Clinton suck up all the oxygen (and money) and it becomes a 2-person race sooner than we'd like, the more he shows courage like this and it works, and the more Hillary Clinton has a snit fit, the better the prospect is to have a nominee who really does represent a change.

I'm not quite ready to sign on yet, but so far I like what I see.