Keyestone Kop

Speaking for myself, I rather look forward to seeing Alan Keyes rail against affirmative action while being forced to admit that the only reason the Republican Party is importing him to Illinois is the color of his skin.

And, of course, there is the difficult-to-deny charge of hypocrisy considering the following, from three years ago:

"I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent people there, so I certainly wouldn't imitate it." - Alan Keyes

What a difference an opportunity makes, eh, Alan?

Alan Keyes is a fine speaker. He is one of the most articulate defenders of the rather extreme conservative wing in the Republican Party. Which is part of the reason that the Republicans are making a serious mistake with this one.

Quite a few years ago now, another speaker delivered a dynamite speech at a Democratic Convention, and was immediately spoken of as Presidential timber: Mario Cuomo.

What happened to Mario? Nothing. He stayed Governor for a while and was eventually defeated in an election for no MAJOR reason except that voters wanted a "change."

He delivered MANY terrific speeches after that - I attended a few - but nobody much noticed, because they weren't on a national stage. His big spotlight never translated into a Presidential run.

But by importing Keyes to challenge Obama, the Republicans are making this election a national stage,and giving Obama more attention and more exposure - which is exactly what they DON'T want to do.

And Keyes, despite his gift of elocution, really doesn't stand a chance.

For one thing, while he is a good speaker, he's not as good as Obama. He's in the mode of a fiery emoter: good phrasing, sharp expression. But there isn't a lot of substance.

Obama, on the other hand, is a real rarity for a speaker: he engages the heart AND the head simultaneously. Cuomo was able to do that, too. Make you think while at the same time exciting you. He doesn't just excite you, he convinces you.

And the other thing is that Keyes really IS rather extremist, and Obama really IS quite moderate. The national attention that this race gets is liable to bring to America's attention just how far off of one edge the Republicans have gone, while highlighting the inherent reasonableness of the Democratic position, which most Americans actually favor.

And Obama already has a major base.

So the result will be a win for Obama. That will quench any political future Keyes might otherwise have had. That's rather sad, because he really does deserve something better than being made into a sacrificial lamb. But that's what the Republicans will do with him.

And it will make attention stay on Obama. And give him even more momentum than he has now.

So Obama will gain momentun, Keyes will see his political career end, and the American people will get a daily reminder of just how extremist the Republicans are.

I'm looking forward to this.