Obama Machiavelli

Until recently David Brooks was a sap, viewing the BarackStar as a reformer, but at last he has seen the seamier side of Barack Obama. Brooks can perhaps be forgiven for taking so long as he is interred in the living death of the NY Times, but more than makes up for it with this juicy prose:

But then on the other side, there’s Fast Eddie Obama, the promise-breaking, tough-minded Chicago pol who’d throw you under the truck for votes.

This guy is the whole Chicago package: an idealistic, lakefront liberal fronting a sharp-elbowed machine operator. He’s the only politician of our lifetime who is underestimated because he’s too intelligent. He speaks so calmly and polysyllabically that people fail to appreciate the Machiavellian ambition inside.

Another starry-eyed Obamacan mugged by the reality of the Chicago Way Obama.

But one good thing has come out of this--the end of the phony campaign finance reform, which both McCain and Obama pushed. As if public funding of anything would naturally be free of corruption. But yeah, Obama is a business as usual politician. And now even David Brooks knows it.

P.S. Has Brooks met Fast Eddie Vrodolyak? Another close, personal fundraising friend of Tony Rezko.

--crossposted at UNC0RRELATED

UPDATE: NY Times moans public funding is on the ropes, WSJ on Obama's flip-flop, and Tom Bevan, RCP blog on asymmetrical political warfare.

More: Yes, let's not go overboard here on the Machiavelli some kind of genius aspect. Obama has the nuts and bolts of politicking down, but on policy he's making it up as he goes along, especially on foreign policy, which is dangerous. Dean Barnett, The Blog at TWS.

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