Ten Reasons To Take a Deep Breath and Chill And Fight

My email has been overflowing this week from wonderful people concerned about the presidential campaign. They all have valuable input. Many are deeply worried about how the campaigns are proceeding, some people are in full fledged panic, many have good advice on 'what must be done immediately' and others simply are resigned to failure and victimhood by invoking our losing races in 2000 and 2004.

After forty years and this being my 13th presidential race, my advice is to take a deep breath, chill and get to work. All is not lost and actually we are doing better than I expected at this stage. Let's focus on the reality:

1. The Republican Convention was just one week ago.

2. Supreme Court anointing notwithstanding, we won in 2000.

3. In 2004, we came within a few thousand votes of defeating an incumbent President which is extremely hard to do.

4. Did anyone really believe we would be leading by 10% coming out of the Republican Convention and maintain that lead to the end?

5. Coming out of a Republican Convention with a major political surprise we are still basically TIED with them. That is not bad at all.

6. The Obama campaign has run a brilliant campaign so far and have risen to every tough situation so far. I have seen nothing yet to shake my faith in them.

7. There is no question that a week ago the McCain pulled a great political move in the short term (and maybe the long term) and we have to figure out how to handle it. But PLEASE lets not rush strategic judgements in order to make ourselves feel better. Take time and don't make mistakes....haste helps the other side.

8. The debates are coming up and my guess is that these debates will be the most important debates since the Kennedy/ Nixon debates in 1960. That was an election where it was about a generational shift in power.

9. We will lose if we don the mantle of victimhood, losers and hand wringers. What will really hurt is to let the Republicans sap our spirit, our contributions and crowds.

10. Lets be real here. This race will be neck and neck until Election Day. When a new generation seeks change from the status quo, the old timers will fight as if their lives depend on it. This is going to be political trench warfare.

So my dear friends, take a deep breath, chill, get strong, give it your all and fight like hell.

Comments

[cobraxus]

HuffPost's Pick

thanks.this election will be all about WHO SHOWS UP TO VOTE!all this defeatism(they beat us again)because of what?Sarah Palin and the news media.she's energized the base!SO?these people were going to vote for McCain anyway.the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.if the democrats allow themselves to be beaten down and don't even bother to show up on election day then we deserve to lose.support for McCain is soft and the hoopla for Palin is like putting a million volts thru a corpse.what we're witnessing in an involuntary death-spas­m...nothin­g more.GET OUT AND VOTE!

[MoeB]

David:

I cannot thank you enough!!!

I'm trying to understand people's uneasiness...when you lose as much as democrats, every negative thing gets you in a tizzy. But let's be real here. The race is now tied basically, with McCain getting 94% of republican votes. I think we are sitting comfortably right now.

But we need to FIGHT! We need to stop crying that Obama isn't hitting hard enough. Why we cannot trust our candidate who has made it this far, taken out the Clinton machine, organized a grass-roots level of campaigning that this country has NEVER seen, yet we still fear republicans.

Obama's not the problem. WE are. We've grown so accustomed to losing that we don't notice a winner when we see one...either that or we're far too willing to abandon them once the going gets tough.

Let's not forget Obama said WAY back when that this wasn't going to be easy...but we are almost there!

Obama/Biden '08

[TimmyGDenver]

Tremendous post. Just the pep talk I needed. Fight on!

[djarvis]

That's more like it! We can't resign ourselves to losing or McCain will win. We have to take the fight to them. Keep contributing when we can, tell our friends why we need to vote for Obama and stand up for what we believe in.

[GhostNyc]

Great article, thank you.

The fight is long from over, don't let fear or panic which is being spread by GOP operatives/bloggers scare you. We all realized this would be a tough fight to the very end. Keep supporting your values, keep fighting for the restoration of the American Values we all support.

Universal healthcare, Education for our children, a stable, thriving economy, Energy independance, Wormen's rights, Global leadership by example and leadership (not by threats)

OBAMA/BIDEN 08

[rock2casbah]

Thank you for being the voice of reason. I had not seen suc indignation and hand wringing as I saw in the last fw days. Why? As you said did they think this was going to be a breeze? With all the factors breathing done his throat, they are going to throw everything at Obama, right wing spin, lies, manufacturer indignation, perverted sexual innuendo, verbal insults, mocking, belittlling, all media in the tank with them and the talking heads scared for their livlihood.. What did they expect.

[Bigeasy]

For all Obama supporters that are concerned read this article !!!



http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=everybody_calm_down_obama_is_hitting_back

[ProgressiveGoat44]

I have been waiting for the new liberal vocabulary.. they try to pick words just out of the grasp of their sheep... so they can feel important.. example:
liberal = that is now "progressive", (and it sounds a little european)
abortion = "choice" (not so offensive)
conservative = neo-con. And of course my favorites, Gravitas, disenfranchised, and now "hubris" What Charlie said last night was "do you really have the arrogance and excessive pride to think you can be president" I knew it was coming... look for it from a Progressive near you.

[Jimwhite06]

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."
My hope is that the Obama campaign is borrowing a scene from one of those old movies where the small band of Americans are under attack from a larger force. The enemy is charging hard, appearing relentless and ferocious. They get closer and closer and it appears the good guys will be overrun. Our guys have their fingers on their triggers but the Captain says, "Hold your fire, and again, hold your fire...waiting for the right moment. Then the captain calls out, at just the right moment, "FIRE!". After a barrage of gunfire the enemy lies vanquished. It's all about timing.
So let McCain relentlessly attack, draw them in, let them feel confident, in control, attacking at will, rushing our front lines...and then hit them with the most over the top, devastating attacks, maybe even grossly untrue, but embarrassingly over the top. I predict that the command to fire will be given between day 49 and 41.

[RS]

"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."

Uh, excuse me Jimwhite06--when we can see the whites of their eyes, THEY can see the whites of our eyes!
DUH! Didn't you think of that?

--from my collection of "The Wisecracks That History Forgot"

[SheenaVa]

In summer of 07, Hillary was projected to be the democratic nominee. Then people voted. When the polls were taken on the Rep side, Guiliani and Fred Thompson were supposed to be the second coming. Then people voted. Both sunk like rocks.

Please keep all these polls in perspective.

But if you're still worried. Get up and do something. Do one more thing than you were doing before. If you were just going to vote Obama. Maybe now contribute what you can to his campaign and slap a bumper sticker on your car. If you were already doing that much, go volunteer, make calls, register voters, take voters to the polls on election day. We can certainly win this. But, it's going to take all of us!

[dte16pj]

Thank you!!! I needed to hear this as a discouraged, fed up and over anxious obama supporter.
Perfectly timed. Go Obama.

[LeonBNJ]

Truman was an incumbant and well behind in 1948 and ended up winning against a strong Republican in Dewey but staying strong, firm and pushing key points like berating a Republican 'do nothing congress'.
In 1992 Clinton stuck to a theme over Bush 41 that 'its the economy stupid' and he beat a Republican and an incumbant. As we see more banks and financial institutions get into trouble, the stock market slip over the next 8 weeks and makes it way into the media, it may move more toward the hope of Obama and away from the failures of Republicans that McCain/Palin represent.
In the end, I believe Obama will win if he pushes the economy as an issue as it affects everyone, their jobs, the value of their homes and their retirement savings and the Republicans are shown to be hurting them.

[csherlan]

With that interview lastnight that the MSM is covering up. We see that this is a scary situation so May GOD be with us because if these warmongers win my 21 month old does not have a chance.

[LouGots]

Well, by comparison to earlier vain attempts, say, Dukakis, you guys are very much behind the power curve, and the Bradley effect is still discretely out of sight.

As a long-time bitter, clinging RKBA activist, I can tell you that the gun people are energized. Everything Effendi Obama has said about guns has played right into our hands. From the NRA itself, down through all those state associations to the individual clubs, the buzz at the shops and shows and ranges is about holding the line against what we hold to be a stealth gun-grabber..

[JADE2002]

You keep telling yourself that, you will be especially crushed when he wins on Nov 4


See you at the voting booth

[HillaryGoAway]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I am really sick of seeing these defeatist blog postings. Liberals (which I am one of) have a way sometimes of acting really weak in the knees. Especially the guy who wrote, "Were gonna fricken lose this thing". Really pathetic. When you get knocked down you must get back up and fight. Never say die and never give up. We will win!!!!!!!!!!