The Candor Campaign

How many four-year cycles have we prayed for presidential candidates who speak from their cuffs? From their minds, at least, maybe even their hearts? We have one of each this year: Barack Obama and John McCain. Sorry, Hillary, you haven't done it this time -- not enough, anyway, as Frank Rich asserts. 

Now we can see how it feels to hear the truth, unspun. How it makes anything less stick out like a page of typos. How it preempts media analysis, obviates it. How it sends the acid-talk-radio comedians into dithers. I'm talking about Obama's race relations speech, of course. But I also mean McCain's clarity on immigration and other sticky issues, although he's still trying to stick with the war he's stuck with, trying to keep what's left of the Republican core on his side. 

We have fine people running for President this year, and we've sorted them out from the others. Nice job, voters. Tune out the punditocracy. There's plenty of evidence that nobody's been paying attention to them anyway, except themselves.