Be Afraid, Brooks Patterson, Be Very Afraid

I just ran across this article from the Eccentric newspaper.
TOM WATKINS: Be afraid, Brooks Patterson, be very afraid
July 24, 2008

After watching the speeches of Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain on Tuesday, June 3rd, the night Senator Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, I believe that 2008 could be one of those political tsunami years that wipes out all in its path. Republicans should be very worried at the national, state and local levels.

To juxtapose the energy, focus and desire not simply between the Democratic candidates and their Republican counterparts, but between their supporters, was like the proverbial "night and day."

Senator McCain was, well, let me be kind — dreadful — while both Clinton and Obama were inspiring and uplifting. McCain appeared to be speaking at a corpse convention as if he was afraid of waking them up! If things do not catch fire on the Republican side of the ticket given the dismal poll numbers of the President and the loss of conservative brand appeal, it could spell doom for anyone with the letter "R" after their name on the ballot.

As I watched that night I thought of a friend, the long-standing Republican, Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson, could be in what we call in political parlance "deep doo doo."

No, it is not just the Obama McCain match-up that could prove to be problematic in and of itself. What is emerging may be the perfect political storm that could knock off the Republican political icon who as been a fixture in Oakland County for over three decades.

How could Brooks be knocked off his perch? Let me count the ways:

1) The excitement Senator Obama generates could push the Democratic vote surge to its highest level in the history of Oakland County. It should be noted that Oakland County, typically Republican, has been trending Democratic in the last several presidential elections.