It's never too early in Oscar season to feast on half-baked pundit delicacies like those of Dave Karger, the Entertainment Weekly awards maven who earns a living composing items like today's "How Obama Helps Batman." But even despite its modest size and airy texture, this morsel is next to impossible to get down [spoilers follow]:

I thought the sequence involving the two ferries (in which a group of commuters and a group of convicts have the power to blow up each others' boats but don't) was a bit too reality-show-ish for my taste. But I know most viewers loved it. Either way, that part of the film speaks to the innate goodness of human behavior. And let's remember that Oscar ballots are due next January 12, just a week before Barack Obama is inaugurated. It's safe to say most Hollywood types will also see that event as an example of innate human goodness. All of this only helps The Dark Knight's chances, don't you think?

No.