John McCain, Jacksonian

Does anyone doubt that Jacksonianism (which I discussed here earlier today) has become the subtext of McCain’s campaign, that he’s trying to unearth his all-American war-hero “country first” image from under the avalanche of celebrity love that his opponent has received?

Check this out:

STURGIS, South Dakota (CNN) – Standing on the main stage at a world famous motorcycle rally in rural South Dakota on Monday, John McCain looked out on a sea of denim-wearing bikers and told them he enjoyed their company much more than that of the 200,000 Germans who turned out to see Barack Obama last month.

“As you may know,” he told the tens of thousands gathered at the 68th annual Sturgis Rally at Buffalo Chip campground, “not long ago, a couple of hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I’ll take the roar of fifty thousand Harleys any day.”

Bikers in the crowd, who had arrived from around the country to partake in the massive outdoor party, revved their engines numerous times in support of the presumptive GOP nominee. McCain said it was music to his ears.

“This is my first time here,” he said, “but I recognize that sound. It’s the sound of freedom.”

If McCain seemed more energized than usual, it might have been because the rally was one the campaign’s most colorful (and noisy) events in recent months. He even purchased four commemorative t-shirts.

I think it’s probably pretty safe to say that the Obama Messiah seems to be falling short. Various people pile on here, here, here, here, and (very shrilly) here.

Most amusingly, this turn of fortunes for his favorite candidate has caused Keith Olbermann to excommunicate his longtime pal and interviewee Dana Milbank—on whom he blames this mess—from Countdown:

For nearly a week we’d been waiting for him to offer a correction or an explanation for his column from last week in which he apparently reported an Obama quote without a full context turned the meaning of the quote inside-out. …

We had decided not to have Dana on this news-hour again until this was cleared up, and, sadly after some very happy years, he’s apparently chosen to make that cloud permanent.

Cloudy days ahead for Olbermann.