BRING BACK "THE ONE"?

A good "deep thought" from Atrios today:

Values update: Crowds and popularity are now good things.

Yup -- now that a Republican is drawing crowds, crowds are a sign of virtue according to the GOP and our elite media, not signs of, say, fascism or cult leadership.

Whatever. It makes me think, though, that maybe it's time for Obama to do fewer down-in-the-crowd events and get back up on the podium for some stemwinders at big rallies. I'm not saying that the press would absolutely refrain from doing a 180 again, declaring Obama's crowd appeal bad even while praising Palin's -- but I think it's more likely that the press would just ignore Obama at first. (Journalists seem to think he's a fad that's over, even though he's still leading in a number of polls even in the middle of McCain's bounce, and barely trailing in the rest.)

I'd like to see Obama be Obama because he's more energized that way -- you look at this clip and he's saying the right things, but he seems exasperated and (sick and) tired, not pumped up. Big speeches pump him up.

Palinmania might give him an opening to go big again. His people showed in Denver that they now know how to make big not look grandiose, so what the hell -- go for it. It might remind the press that the guy still has a rather large following, as does the Democratic message. That just might change press coverage.