Perceptions are nine-tenths of reality in politics. If the voters think you're a winner, they are more likely to jump on your bandwagon. If they think you're sitting dead in the water, you're a bum, no matter how appealing your ideas might be.
That's been Sen. Barack Obama's problem. After his rock-star presidential campaign launch, the Illinois Democrat has been languishing in second place, running 20 points or more behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Recently, though, Mr. Obama appears to have risen out of bum-hood and onto a roll.
What's changed? He has gone on the attack. Or as he puts it, he is drawing sharp contrasts and distinctions between his positions and those of his leading opponent. The perception of decorum is important in politics, even as you quietly put on your brass knuckles.
The turning point was evident in the Oct. 30 Democratic presidential debate in Philadelphia. Mrs. Clinton was questioned sharply, especially by Mr. Obama, the journalists' panel and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. After exhibiting supreme confidence in the earlier debates, Mrs. Clinton sounded evasive and even self-contradictory on key issues. Afterward, she admitted that she had fallen off her game.
A good example was her awkward wavering on whether she supported granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. She seemed to be trying to support the idea in principle but not necessarily in practice. Mr. Obama has since made a theme of criticizing Mrs. Clinton as lacking honesty, candor and consistency. Mrs. Clinton countercharges that Mr. Obama lacks experience.
A revealing exchange began in Iowa when Mr. Obama said that his relatives in Kenya and his international upbringing allow him to view the world with more understanding than most of his challengers.
In a later Iowa appearance, Mrs. Clinton responded like a seasoned veteran putting a young upstart in his place. "Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face," she said.
But Mr. Obama should be delighted. Attacks from your political rivals can be the sincerest form of flattery. Front-runners usually don't make pointed jabs at rivals unless they think they have a real fight on their hands. Besides, knowledgeable observers noted that Mrs. Clinton was stepping on shaky ground in boasting foreign policy expertise. She was a first lady, after all, not a secretary of state.
