This is the third in a four part series — my reaction to each of the opinion pieces the candidates write for The DP and finally my reaction to The DP’s endorsement. I write purely critiquing each candidate’s piece, and not from my own political point of view.

A strong editorial from the Senator, which was more inclusive of policy than I had expected. This is a very big plus since it addresses the issue of Senator Obama being perceived by some as “policy-lite.”

The fight against Senator McCain has already started. The opponents are now “Bush-McCain Republicans.” I’m not sure the two can be quite roped together (apart from their position on the war), but it certainly is the way to beat McCain.

The last thing I think most voters want is another Bush presidency. The phrase has to be coined early so it becomes part of normal political language by the time of the general election.

The Senator says a lot of great things.

He talks of whipping the Congress back into shape and curbing the power of lobbyists. I’d like to point out that this is so much easier said than done, but it is still a valid and extremely admirable view to take and hold. If you are going to be the candidate for change, you better put your money where your mouth is — or not, I guess, when it comes to lobbyists.

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Penn students are a brave sort. We occupy buildings to fight for a living wage… oops, that was Harvard. We rally against controversial speakers like the Minutemen founder and Karl Rove… er, sorry, that was Columbia. And a prep school.

But making change by standing up for Barack Obama? That we can do.

According to Mara’s DP column yesterday, the campus is turning evangelical for Obama; Barack-oholics are selling shirts, wearing buttons, and redecorating Facebook pages in his honor.

And unless you flew Oceanic 815, you know that Obama’s kicking butt across the country. The man’s won 10 straight primaries; in Wisconsin, he took 70% of the under-30 Democractic vote (and probably an even greater share of college-age voters). Plus, he’s staying hip. Slate — which yesterday noted Obama’s five-point national lead over Clinton — last week unveiled its Encyclopedia Baracktannica. More importantly, he’s won the coveted endorsement of Lloyd from Dumb and Dumberer.

Despite securing the Lloyd vote, Barack’s fight for the Democratic nomination isn’t over. But on liberal campuses like Penn, it’s not a bold, underground move to support Obama — it’s increasingly the norm.

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