In his victory speech Tuesday, Obama warned that Republicans were preparing attacks from the same general election play book that's guided their campaigns for the past several elections. "Yes, we know what’s coming. We’ve seen it already. The same names and labels they always pin on everyone who doesn’t agree with all their ideas."

And he's right. They've already rolled out the "he's the most liberal Senator" meme, which was used against John Kerry and John Edwards in 2004. And they're ramping up another attack that worked against Kerry: Smearing his wife. The right wing noise machine went after Teresa Heinz Kerry aggressively, painting her as elitist, out of touch, "odd" and "self centered."

Now it's Ms. Obama's turn. Michele Malkin recently called her "Obama's bitter half" and claimed she will be his greatest liability during the general election. The National Review called her "America's unhappiest millionaire" and claimed she has a "relentlessly negative vision of American life." Christopher Hitchens implied Michele was responsible for the Jeremiah Wright fiasco but offered no evidence other than a passing mention of her senior thesis at Princeton.

Other "evidence" presented so far has been an equally far stretch. Michelle Malkin and other conservative bloggers have been pointing to Michele Obama's speeches about Barack being an underdog in this campaign as evidence of her negativity and bitterness. Every candidate in the race, including John McCain and Hillary Clinton, has at some point portrayed themselves as the underdog, but when Michele Obama does it, it prompts replies like this from Malkin:

So get over yourself already, haughty spirit. Pride doesn’t photograph well. And bitterness leaves frown lines. Which means Botox bills. Which “struggling folks” like you and your husband simply cannot afford.

After seeing Obama bounce back from similar "distractions" recently, you'd think partisan hacks like Malkin would at least try a different approach. Obama himself has publicly told them how predictable they have become and warned that the same tactics won't have the same success this time around. But instead of getting creative in their mudslinging, the strategy is to yell the same talking points a little louder.

Why? Because partisan Republicans (those truly only interested in keeping the party in power and regurgitating talking points) want to talk about absolutely anything other than actual issues this campaign season. They can't let Obama make the election about the war in Iraq or the stagnant economy or the crumbling healthcare system or global warming. That will just remind voters how the Republican party failed to address those issues during six years of majority rule. And it will make this election about George Bush.

Republicans can't win that way, so they'll do everything in their power to make it about Michele Obama.