Ardent Republicans seem to be rooting for Senator Clinton in the primary election in order to consolidate their constituents' deep-seated disdain for her in November. However, they realize that it may be formidable and charismatic Barack Obama on the ticket in the fall.
An excellent piece from Politico reveals the GOP propaganda machine's ideas on Obama's political weaknesses. Last weekend, at a RNC big donor "winter retreat" starring Karl Rove in Beverly Hills, deep-pocketed Republicans congregated to hobnob and plot to land John McCain in the Oval Office. A PowerPoint presentation made to the attendees listed five presumed pressure points for an Obama candidacy in the general election:
#1: A seeming incongruity between Obama and the mantle of commander in chief.
#2: During Obama's days in the Illinois state Senate, his "pattern of voting 'present' offers many openings to question his candidacy."#3: There is hope for the GOP faithful that "we can be confident in a campaign about issues."
#4: "Undisciplined messaging carries great risk."
#5: "His greatest weakness is inexperience. He is not ready to be commander in chief. He is not ready to be president."
It would be too easy to look at these five Republican points of criticism and turn them against George W. Bush in 2000.
However for Obama, the inevitable racist insinuations from #1 will be ugly. Numbers 2 and 4 open the door to being labeled empty, or worse, not "decisive," a cousin to the dreaded "flip-flopper."
Numbers 3 and 5 are weak for Republicans, though. Sixty-nine percent of the country thinks we're going in the wrong direction. They don't want a continuation of Bush's policies. And #5 can be overcome by Obama's uncanny ability to rally people for change and to get out the vote with younger and more racially diverse constituencies.
It will take heavy doses of whispered slime, insinuation, and fear for the GOP to take down Barack Obama. Prepare for the onslaught. Rove and company did it successfully to McCain in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. With presumptive candidate McCain's recent unqualified praise for him, Rove and his dirty tricks will surely be in the mix again.
Will America have finally caught on?
Dan Brown is the author of The Great Expectations School.
Follow Dan Brown on Twitter: www.twitter.com/danbrownteacher
Does he have the 'strength' to take on a piss-ant dictator somewhere and still be fighting the same wars two terms later?
Does he have the 'nerve' to deny the problem of Global Warming in the face of amazing natural disasters and still do *nothing*?
Does he have the 'creativity' to do anything useful or effective over the next few years, unlike the present incumbent?
Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?
In Ohio, I am surprised at newbies, both independents and former Republicans who are coming out to work on the Obama campaign. Folks are tired at being lied to and having words parsed. If we can get a fair election (look at those Harlem precincts encountering 0 votes for Obama reported in the NYT), we will have the first Af Am president in our nation's history!
Amazingly laughable!
What are you talking about? It would be too easy to apply them to george bush NOW!!
The real slime attacks won't make much difference - the people who are willing to believe them aren't going to vote for any Democrat anyway, and the ones who hear them and then are made aware of the lies they contain will be repulsed by them.