Over at Salon, Camille Paglia writes that Barack Obama is a synthesizer:

As an Obama supporter, I of course see things quite differently. Whatever his tactical assertions in the primary trenches, Obama seems to have an open and flexible mind. He is a conciliator and synthesizer, ready to give due respect to opposing views — a grace desperately needed in paralyzed Washington. When the camera comes close — as it did last week when CNN’s terrific Candy Crowley tenaciously grilled him about Hillary Clinton’s prospects for the vice-presidency — his deliberative thought process is plainly visible. What a deft performance under high-stakes pressure: Obama was firm, authoritative and methodical without ever losing his warmth and geniality. The guy is smart as a whip. And his administration will be as good as its appointments. As for Michelle Obama, she is formidable, representing a bold, stylish feminism more authentically contemporary than the old, bellyaching, blame-the-males style of Hillary’s omnipresent cheerleader, Gloria Steinem.

Paglia joins the Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan in calling Obama a synthesizer. 

And while you still can’t play Lucky Man on Barack Obama, John McCain wants to sell you golf gear.