So as for my last take on the Phenom:

To understand the culture of the day is to study the under belly.  Looking underneath our cloaks, seek the crypto-clues of what we are wanting in a President.  Don't get lost in the psychobabble of  the "hero president" and where is the Reaganesque, swaggering John Wayne-abees? That fluff is so played. 

Get lost in the post 9/11 era and you'll miss the forest through the trees.  We really don't want a normal hero type, but a paranormal Phenom.  This generation of Gen-X, Y and now Z voters grew up watching horror films, playing video games, and reading Stephen King.  Your average 35-45 year old is much more comfortable discussing ghosts than God.  He smoked pot, looks at porn, yet prays a lot too; now has a wife and kids he cannot figure out.  His parents were likely divorced and he secretly thinks movies like Independence Day could happen.

He's a fast foodie not eating any of that stylized sludge he watches being whipped up on the Food Channel.  He's overweight, underloved, not sleeping well and he has reflux. Yet, in spite of everything, he loves.   This fact cannot be lost in the shuffle and is the key to it all.  He is sick and tired of being judged by a projectile vomiting media telling him how to feel, live, and vote.

Maybe some thinker in a tank left of central will call him names and miss it all.  This 'guy' is the heart of the country and he lives in the fly over areas-- like Iowa, Michigan, and even Arizona. Liberals are losing more and more ground than you know because they have no clue about who is this voter.  This young Republican is a decent man (or woman) lost in the consumerism, and a product of the weak parenting of the 70s.  He's is just starting to get that he is now in charge.  He has a job, too many bills, and no time for sentimentality. Yet, he does love a good cause and he is searching. 

Women and men of my generation straddle the baby boom gap of post-World War II.  What Bill Clinton captured in the hearts of the boomers was palpable, but they are not the target audience anymore.   The 60s young are now in their sixties and what many had was over-bloated self-confidence fueling their "Me Generation".  My peers did not and do not have that luxury.  We were the first kids taught of Stranger Danger.  Now, our kids can't play in the front yard without a chaperon and are fingerprinted just in case they get abducted.  Monsters are real to us.

Our wanderlust of heart is captured not by a hero but by a superhero.  Watch the movies of our time, read the comics, and understand the love of games and sports.  Warriors, lovers, strongholds of precise drive and direction.  It's  Gladiator and Braveheart, but it's Passion of the Christ meets Predator.  Where's the candidate who shines beyond the dull of this Pale Horse we see riding in?  We truly suspect the Horseman is riding, but we are not thrown at all.  The horror of the day- we have been prepared for the Evil.  Terrorism is the Evil and our Good needs a Leader Beyond the Pale to go beyond protecting us.  We want him to save us  and triumph over Evil. 

This Phenom may not exist but, please make us think he does, and we are with you.  Why do you think confident, attractive Barack Obama sways the young: he projects stability with a touch of swashbuckle.  Yet, his message is non-existent; Obama says he'll save but does not tell us how.  Barack Obama is a stage prop at the podium. So, who is there for the Republicans?

Just today,  I heard in John McCain some substantial humanity, humility, and defined policies regarding the economy and the war.  McCain was downright contrite- thank God.  We need his reality and commanding strength to come through.  Let John be John.

I believe that the Republicans feeling disenfranchised just want proof, a promise, and a platform from our Grand Old Politician.  We need to be needed and protected, and do not buy into the teleprompter talking points shoveled in most speeches.  Give us more Mr. McCain, like you did today, and hold on tightly to your imperfection as it is your winning feature. 

Many talked of the religion issue bringing down Romney, but I don't think so.  Mitt Romney didn't have likability.  He swaggered, yes, but in the wrong way. Romney seemed like the smart, wealthy, good looking, big man on campus, who's also a bit removed from the real people who have late bills and athlete's feet.  He was not warm and I don't care about his perfect hair. 
 

John McCain is an ol'coot, with an annoying smirkiness and foul mouth.  He's very real and if he keeps his eyes on the people and off of the horrible teleprompter during the speeches, he might do this.  Good guys who are also hotheads flip flop into nice guys when it matters, as they know they are not perfect.  It's the nice guys with perfect hair you watch out for because they lack EMPATHY and seem self-serving. I did not sense any warmth from Mitt Romney and whether you like it or not, many Republicans who made the effort to vote, did not feel a kindred spirit with Mitt Romney either.

So Mr. McCain, can you become the Phenom- that wonder boy though in your seventies; that hopeful new blood on a road less traveled with your old walking papers and maverick shoddy steps?  Show me Mac, and make it an extra-value meal please.