Every story needs a Villain – an Antagonist that represents
the obstacles the Hero must overcome. If you don’t have one, other story tellers will
create one for you, and your story might get out of your control.

That is what has been happening with media coverage of the
Dem convention. Because Obama has not clearly defined McCain as a living,
breathing Antagonist – the personification of all that has gone wrong in the
last eight years – pundits of all political stripes are free to choose Obama’s antagonist for him. It might be the Pumas, it might be a petulant Bill, it
might be disgruntled big spenders, but it is going to have to be somebody,
because without an Antagonist there is no story, and story is the only way to
fill hours and hours of airtime.

It is possible that the Obamistas have been cleverly laying
back and Obama will come out swinging hard tonight. If that is the case Obama
can’t waste time being bipartisan. He needs to get his knuckles dirty from the
get go. We know he can float like a butterfly, now it is time for him to sting
like a bee. He doesn’t need to attack McCain directly. What he needs to
do is attack the Repub brand as a “failed extremist philosophy”. Bill Clinton
and John Kerry laid the groundwork, but it is up to the nominee to
start landing the hard body blows that will put McCain into the ropes.

You probably heard Bill’s speech. John Kerry’s was largely
lost so that pundits could preen for the camera. It is definitely worth a
listen. Check it out here.