McCain’s strength was his heroism as a Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam. Obama’s was his opposition to the losing war that George W. Bush had chosen to fight in Iraq. Almost all nationally prominent Democrats had bet that backing the war would seem the more patriotic option. Now that Bush had added the near-destruction of the world economy to his trophy case alongside his two lost wars, any Republican nominee would probably have been sunk. Since Democrats were still the party of bureaucratic expertise and bold government action, Obama was well positioned to address the finance crisis.
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