Friedman weighs in on Obama — wake UP!

The world may or may not be “flat,” but in Friedman’s world, Obama needs to get off the Valium.

Three great pull quotes. First:

Somebody needs to tell Obama that if he wants the chance to calmly answer the phone at 3 a.m. in the White House, he is going to need to start slamming down some phones at 3 p.m. along the campaign trail.

Then:

As Neil Oxman, political consultant at The Campaign Group, put it to me: For half the country, “Sarah Palin is Roseanne from the ‘Roseanne’ show. ‘Roseanne’ was the No. 1 comedy five years in a row and seven out of nine in the top 10.” She is connecting at a gut level. So does McCain — and, therefore, they don’t need to give their constituents many details.

I’m not sure the level of accuracy that analogy has.

But, for laugh value (as I think about Roseanne Barr the “¿real?” person grabbing her crotch while singing the National Anthem in San Diego) that second quote is spot on.

And the third:

My own totally unscientific, seat of the pants poll tells me this: When you say Obama’s name today and ask people for their first impression — a quick, flash, gut, first impression — no single word or phrase or policy comes to mind. His opponents will fill that vacuum if he doesn’t. They already are.

Obama did strive hard to define his own narrative in Denver, but Friedman’s certainly on the right track with this.

Anyway, Friedman’s been more sensical in the last month or two commenting on political issues, even though he’s technically not a political columnist. Maybe that’s why he’s making more sense!