You want a fight? Let's rumble.

I'm going to play devil's advocate, or Satan's Little Helper, here with Earl's contention that Obama should lay off Palin.

Democrats have been crushed in recent national elections because they won't fight hard. Republicans will and do fight mean, in shockingly below-the-belt ways.

Voters say they hate meanness, then they vote for the Republican who slandered and libeled the hapless, formerly frontrunning Democrat. Even though voters say they despise negative politics, it's pretty much the only thing they respond to.

Will this hurt Obama's image as a "new-wave" pol who's above the fray? Sure, but let's admit that this hasn't worked. It hasn't gotten him a significant lead over Hillary in the primaries or McCain in the generals.

What America wants is a fighter, not a lover. That's why McCain used the word "fight" a thousand times in his acceptance speech. And that's why Obama needs to sharpen his silver tongue, if I may steal a phrase. No one in America is more eloquent than Obama: if he can harness those words to punch out his rivals, Americans will sense that Obama can punch out Osama, or Ahmedinejand, or so on.

Finally, Obama can fight and not lose his young base, because, again, people like a good fight. Undecided voters who wanted a sweet president would be turned off by a punchy Obama, but diehards will love him for standing up for himself and for his principles.

He need not be Dukakis, he need not be Gore, he need not be Kerry. He needs to fight.