You have heard that a long drawn out battle with Hillary Clinton is to John McCain’s advantage. This may be true, but I am going to show you the downside as well.

The pro’s

We all know the general advantages for the GOP of a protracted Democrat primary season. Briefly, here are most of them:

1. Both Obama and Hillary spend more money on each other.
2. Their efforts to win will damage them both, revealing weaknesses the GOP can use later.
3. It divides the Democrat party further, and will leave lasting scars and even defectors who won’t vote for the “other” if “their” candidate does not win.
4. It is damn entertaining to watch these crazy clueless folks scramble around trying to look important and qualified. The name calling within the party is an extra perk as well.

But few people have mentioned or discussed what the downside is for this process to go on well into the summer, perhaps even all the way to Denver in August.

The Con

Cover for Obama’s positions…

Currently, McCain has the luxury of staying mostly out of the fray, avoiding that which drags one down into the gutter… i.e., day to day politics. Obama and Clinton are doing that work on each other, and Howard Dean jumps in from time to time just to remind us how lucky we are that he never became President. During this time, McCain has time to regroup, gather some advisors and formulate good positions and plans for the ‘General’, and time to generally look “Presidential” by making statesman like trips and speeches around the Country.

Oh- and make money.

But while all of this is happening, a very quiet and somewhat dastardly advantage for Obama is playing out beneath our radar.

Due to the nature of the situation, Clinton and Obama need to obviously focus on each other right now. However, don’t think for a moment that this will bring out ALL of the necessary information that the public needs to focus on in order to make a solid decision in November.

Put another way, Obama is a mysterious and relatively unknown factor in politics. He is of course a first termer. He avoids the media like the plague, excepting softball shows like The View and other tabloid garbage that endears candidates to idiots but protects them from the serious scrutiny which can cause real political damage.

This long and drawn out primary is giving Obama “cover”. He is not being attacked by the right yet as that would show presumption as to who the nominee will be. Of course we know he will probably win, but at this time, McCain is taking the high road and letting the process continue on the left unchallenged for the most part.

By letting this process go until August, Obama and the Democrats may, then, be stumbling into an advantage that they have not perceived yet. Or, better put, those in the political world may be aware of this advantage, but the majority of the voting public are not.

Obama winning in a close contest at the Convention will be big news, and will draw huge media attention. But even more important to him is the fact that a shortened General is to his advantage. It gives the GOP less time to tear him down on inexperience, and expose his far far left leanings. Two months is not enough time to paint this man into a liberal box, not when you are having to contest the din of the wave of hype from the first black man ever to be nominated, in a close nail-biter that was just decided in August.

This wave of hype and short General just might make it impossible to make a common sense case against Obama, because much of America will be high on the concept that “A black man made it, we are vindicated for our prior sins now!!!”

Howard Dean, our friend…

With all of that said, Howard Dean just might be the GOP’s best ally right now. As screwed up and emotional as this man is, he might be right (for us anyway) to suggest this contest between Clinton and Obama should end sooner than later. He has suggested June, or July latest, in order to help his party. But I think it helps us more than it helps the Dems.

I am sure all of you conservatives will be thanking Howard Dean if he gets his way. Keep him and his wish in your prayers!