Where Is the Love for Barack Obama?

It takes a village...

That's what Hillary Clinton said, of course. But it applies to Barack Obama, too. And what I'm wondering is: Where's the village that should be out there, defending him from attacks by John McCain?

Just look at what happened last week: McCain accused Obama of caring more about winning an election than winning a war. McCain accused Obama of being nothing but a ditzy celebrity. And McCain accused Obama of playing the race card.

Three ugly, nasty, personal attacks that have nothing to do with public policy and should have no place in a presidential campaign.

And what did we hear from leading Democrats? Silence!

Where the hell were they? They all should have been out there: Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein.

They should been out there condemning John McCain and demanding that he apologize and pull his personal attack ads from the air. Instead, by their silence, they seem to be condoning such ads -- and inviting more of the same.

It's important that Democratic Senators start taking on John McCain.

Barack Obama should win this election. But he can't win it alone.

Comments

[definitelyNOTmisterRIGHT]

11:55 AM on 08/05/2008

aren't they all in recess right now? maybe that's why they haven't spoken up yet. i'm being patient and giving them (dems) the benefit of doubt.

[hesingswithfrogs]

01:36 PM on 08/04/2008

I agree with this article wholeheartedly. Like it or not, people often form their beliefs based in large part upon their perceived popularity of the belief involved. When McCain comes out with patently false negative attacks on Obama, the false charges are more likely to stick if people mostly hear the charges and not the defense. When McCain makes these false negative attacks, Obama needs a chorus of well-liked, authoritative individuals to repeatedly, publicly, and forcefully reject those attacks.

Moreover, Democrats need to get better at making McCain's shortcomings "a big deal." Republicans have been much better at this as of late. Whether Republican charges are true or not, they repeat the charges mercilessly, indignantly, scornfully, and cynically until people actually begin to believe that the charges are true. They create a caricature of a person based upon these charges to the point where people think about the caricature rather than the real person when assessing the person's motives, intentions, and abilities ... and republicans are always trying to cast doubt about a person's motives and intentions. They work themselves up into a frenzy of hate, scorn, disdain, and rejection of the caricature that they have created of their opponent. Psychologically, it's brilliant. Democrats need to get better at the "make it a big deal" factor while towing the line ethically.

[MPeter]

12:46 PM on 08/04/2008

Thanks Bill. I too have been bothered by how silent and absent the likes of Feinstein, Reid and the rest of them have been, while the rabid Lieberban and the race-baiting McBush has been smearing and distorting Obama. Democrats need to get off their asses and start speaking up, lest the Rethug smears, helped by a corrupt, race-baiting MSM will still this election.

[grannysharp]

11:30 AM on 08/04/2008

Bill Press is so right, these aids are above and beyond good taste, they are just down right nasty to say the least, such a waste of money and time, might be cute but in such an important election who needs cute.

[JUNGLEJIM123]

11:27 AM on 08/04/2008

The love is dying ..like in a marriage. The people are seeing that Bam Bam is not what the thought he was. the butterflies are gone, the thrill is gone. He talks and talks but says nothing.. He needs free rock concerts by popular bands to play before he delivers one of his speeches. He changes his positions all the time and of course we never really believed him when he said he didnt hear those sermons in his 20 years of church attendance. Now we have his buddy Ludacris talking about how they cannot be stopped..get used to it..we're taking over and they trash Hillary again of course. we do not WANT or NEED this DRAMA anymore. You media people adore him and you r out of touch with many many Americans !!! Kick this empty suit to the curb and get some real candidate in there...Ooops Ii forgot..you Media clowns trashed her and she is out of the race....Hillary will stage her comeback in 2012 and win... til then say No to Rockbama !!!

[zippywpinhead]

02:58 PM on 08/07/2008

"He needs free rock concerts by popular bands to play before he delivers one of his speeches"

Ha!Ha!Ha! can you say Sturgis? How about kid Rock? How about Miss Buffalo chip?

what a hypocrite, T.aylor M.arsh was right about you clowns......

[Freesia2]

11:13 AM on 08/04/2008

Thank you. I was wondering the same thing.

Where's the cavalry?

If I had to guess, I would say that he's been so cool under presure in the past, and so efficient with his own team that they are used to standing back until they get a signal from him. They shouldn't wait for flares.

[Chachi]

10:53 AM on 08/04/2008

First Problem: Obama should stop playing games and pick a VP. Both him and McCain are over thinking this VP announcement - trying to find the right time to get extra press coverage and a bounce in the polls. Just make the announcement already because this long wait is actually handcuffing a few of these Democratic leaders so they can’t come out and defend him.

Joe Biden for example is sitting in limbo on Obama’s short list. If he was the VP he would be out there full force defending Obama right now. If he wasn’t the VP he could still go out there as a leading Democrat and make the case for Obama and/or attack McCain. But, as someone on the VP list the media would spend all their time overanalyzing why Biden is defending Obama so much. "Is he auditioning for VP," they’d speculate, and the substance of his comments attacking McCain would be lost.

Obama should make the announcement, let everyone get to their battle stations, let everyone in the party know the ticket and get behind it and prepare for a tough campaign. This waiting game is too clever by half and is not doing any good for the Obama campaign.

[ESerafina42]

10:49 AM on 08/04/2008

As Bill Clinton (and Jimmy Carter) found out, you're not going to get a lot of help from other Democrats when you spend the election trash talking them (those "Washington insiders" who play "politics as usual"). Republicans evidently don't mind, since Reagan and GW (the _ultimate_ Washington insider) did the same thing. You're right, though - the silence has been deafening, though he also needs to hit back himself, if not personally, then through his campaign.

[BoGardiner]

10:25 AM on 08/04/2008

McCain's ads are ditzy, excessively negative, ad hominem, shallow, and should be an embarrassment to any Republican (assuming they're capable of embarrassment). But perhaps Dem leaders privately disagree with you about who has played the race card, and think it's the better part of valor to move past this phase as quickly as possible.