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I’ve had a zen-like attitude regarding the Presidential race since the middle of the summer. Jay Nordlinger wrote earlier this year that this election is not a referendum on either Romney or Obama, but a test of the people. Just so. Never before have we had such a clear choice on the direction of our country than that which lies before us. This race is and always has been about the kind of Country we want to be.

Call me the eternal optimist, but I’m feeling pretty good about the race for the White House. For a few reasons, actually. First, the polls are finally starting to show some movement.

After apparently writing off the Keystone State in August, word on the street in September was that Pennsylvania was in play. Today a new Susquehanna poll has good news for Romney. PoliticsPA:

Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney by a 2 point margin, identical to his lead in late September according to Susquehanna Polling and Research. But the Republican’s debate performance contributed to a 6 point jump in his favorability rating.

Oh, and then there’s this.

Second, the teflon nature of this administration to slip on through what would otherwise seem to be explosive scandals seems to be out of warranty, and just in time. Darrell Issa’s upcoming hearings on the security fiasco in Benghazi threaten to make the Administration uncomfortable this week, to say the least, and the press are losing their shyness in asking relevant questions about it. Compound that with recent relevations about Fast and Furious and reports of campaign finance improprieties, and the “most transparent administration in history” may have some ‘spaining to do, and not a moment too soon.

Less tangible, but no less important, are the cracks that are starting to show in the once united foundation of the pop culture phenomenom that has been Barack Obama. The immediate shock and awe reaction of the Obama cheerleading section in the mainstream media was just the beginning, most notably the now infamous Chris Matthews melt down .  Go ahead–click through and watch it again–it never gets old.  It’s a very revealing clip just for WHAT Chris Matthews actually says: he out and out admits that he is tired and disgusted with carrying water for a guy that won’t even bother to fight for himself.  As a supposedly objective newsman, this is a heck of an admission and its starting to make the press sweat a bit about a future where their aura of objectivity has been irrevocably compromised.

Even predictible left wing stalwarts like Bill Maher and Michael Moore registered tweets of disappointment. Add to that the dogpiling of the Tonight Show (!) and Saturday Night Live (!!!) over the weekend and today Buzz Bissinger and WaPo’s Chris Cillizza and suddenly, things are looking a little different.

You may be thinking that these are small things, but do not underestimate how much the Obama campaign has been relying on the uniformity of the message from its surrogatges in the media and pop culture. Obama has been largely waging a campaign against a series of straw men. As over 70 million people witnessed last Wednesday night, not only was Romney not the man that Obama said he was, but Obama isn’t the man that the media has been selling either.

For the first time since I can remember, a large segment of the liberal population was treated to an unvarnished look at Romney and Republicans, and we’re not quite the boogymen they’ve been told to expect.

This week, the Democrats’ collective hopes rest on Joe Biden and the faux and slightly desperate “War on Big Bird” meme. It may not last, but for the first time in a long time, it sure feels good to be a Republican.