First, a recap: this week, the Obama camp released an ‘anonymous’ memo to the press, berating Hillary Clinton for accepting money from companies that outsource, for investing in Indian companies, and no joke, for having Indian friends.

The Clinton camp circulated it widely, and Obama’s clean political image was appropriately slammed in the press.

To his credit, Obama apologized profusely, said he had no idea the memo was released, and apparently got really upset at his staff about it. To his discredit, no one on his staff got axed.

Whether or not this was Obama’s macaca moment, whether Obama should do more to apologize, whether someone should trademark Obamacaca (.com still available!), etc…all of those things are up to bloggers with way more time on their hands than me to decide. Heck, I still might vote for the guy.

For me, this moment is even more significant than all of that. The ObaMacacaMemo (say it three times fast) means…that…(DRUMROLL PLEASE) outsourcing has officially arrived to Indecision 2008.

Welcome to the party, Outsourcing! Come on in! Take a seat and grab a drink! You’re gonna have to sit behind Iraq & Global Warming, maybe a bit to the right of abortion & gay rights…oops, not that far right! Let gun control sit there…hey gun control! Blam blam! Ha ha! Hey listen, why don’t you sit next to Immigration - you guys both seem to piss the same people off! Ha ha, just kidding! Oh wow - this is your lucky day! That cutie John Edwards already wants a dance! Lucky you wore a comfortable sari!

Outsourcing has arrived, and she’s just getting warmed up.

For a while, you will probably just hear the Lou Dobbs fans, spreading borderline racist commentary and screaming about offshore phone support (as if it was better before). They will choke up the blogosphere and land prime-time slots on Fox News, arguing vehemently that it is inconceivable that cheaper goods and services could actually be good for an economy. And, they will tell you that you hate America if you think otherwise (for example and example.)

Then, John Edwards will remind us, repeatedly, that his father was a mill worker. I mean, like, thousands of times.

Finally, a few of the candidates who trail Hillary Clinton will decide to officially embrace an anti-outsourcing platform, resurrecting phrases like ‘Benedict Arnold CEOs’, since, apparently, they were so effective during the last election cycle.

And, so it will go…in Election 2008, and probably, in Election 2080, when a Klingon candidate will argue vehemently that inhabitants of Mars should not get the remote teleporter support jobs, despite the fact that the Martian education system kicks ass.

Note: I went to go see Barak Obama speak last week. He was amazing. Inspiring. Pragmatic. Funny. All of it. In his characteristic style, Mr. Obama swayed the audience into wild applause while running through issues such as political accountability, closing Guantanamo, and retooling education. Everything he said seemed fresh, devoid of the typical political ambiguity, and even more encouraging to me, outlandish Democratic rhetoric about global economics.

“Now why you gotta go and do that love, huh? Making things between me and you harder? Killing me, just when I think we’re there?”