Let Obama Be Obama In the Debate

John McCain's campaign is in shambles. His advisers are bickering. He looks like he's finished.
Sound familiar? It's where McCain was in the Republican primary season before he rebounded from the precipice to win the nomination. With polls pegging McCain at some 10 points behind Barack Obama, most commentators are writing him off again.

Not so fast. In an election season as volatile as this one, Obama's supporters should not become overconfident. While the third debate has historically been of little significance, the final stand-off between Obama and McCain offers the chance to finish him and Palin off once and for all. Instead of playing it safe, Obama should go on the offense against McCain tomorrow night, who is bragging to his supporters that he will whip Obama's "you know what." If Obama simply delivers canned lines and fails to deliver a strong message of reform, he could end up taking the McCain campaign off its life-support system.

McCain, who has nothing left to lose, will grossly exaggerate Obama's inexperience and claim that he and the Democrats are single-handedly responsible for the current economic mess. Obama needs to remind voters, again and again, that it is McCain who has failed to push for real reform on government regulation and, by the way, that he knows next to nothing about economics.
Obama does. He should play up the community organizer skills that he honed during his years in Chicago--the very ones that the egregious Sarah Palin scoffed at during her speech at the Republican convention. It's Obama, not McCain, who has hands-on experience with the difficulties that average Americans are experiencing. In recent weeks, Obama, as the British say, has come on song, speaking with real passion and fervor about changing America. Obama's advisors should continue to let Obama be Obama when he squares off against McCain tomorrow.

Comments

[oaddi]

This what you have been training for over the last two years now take all of what you've learned and use it tonight. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you want it. Go Win it.

[Territc]

Obama will continue to be Obama. He continue doing what he has been doing these past two years - successfully. Although the supporters may have become overconfident, Obama keeps stressing that we have not come to the end and the fight is still on. No, he will continue to be just Obama.
YES WE CAN!

[queenisabella]

that's right
and I am not sure he needs the above advice, the man has run this campaign brilliantly

[lagumbo]

OBAMA is a brilliant man with lots of brilliant people around him, so he should keep doing what he has done all along. He is being OBAMA. That's what I like about him. He is a statsman with compassion for the people. He will be president for all the people. It has been so long since we have had someone like that. OBAMA knows what he has to do.

[pjean]

Obama cannot be seen as angry and he can't attack first. He has to do what what he has done so well in the last two debates. He needs to maintain his lead so we can send McCain and Palin back home.

[joeyp404]

Does Obama even remember who that Obama was?

[egal]

Obama builds upon his community service and other experience in every decision he makes. The policies and votes he has made bolster that origin, making him a stronger leader.

The only candidates who seem to forget where they came from are John McCain and Sarah Palin. For him, at least he once had morals that he trumpeted, whether or not he actually followed them, while she has used every dirty trick in the book while claiming to be holier than thou.

[zabbadu]

Yep. In the past, I'd offer a few bits of my own brand of wisdom to Barack. Not that he didn't hear it or anything, but ..

I now think he is the better person to decide what/how/when to say what is in his best interest to get him to the office.

Our part: Never doubt him, just vote for him.

[lmw952]

You know, I hear this all the time - "Obama supporters should not be too confident". Why not? Is it not okay to have confidence in your candidate? Barack Obama has been confident since day one - though some people chose to call it arrogance.

Confidence is just another word for faith. Faith is believing in things you can't see.

I believe that Barack Obama has run a brilliant, dignified campaign. Now, did he fight back? Of course he did. But he only fought back when he was taken to the "point of no return". That's exactly what presidents and all good leaders do. They hold back and analyze the situation before making that final decision.

Had I been called a "terrorist", a "traitor", a "pedophile", a "foreigner in my own country" - yeah, I would have fought back with every cell in my mind and body. There are some things you just don't sit back and let fester. But Barack even fought back in a tempered way.

He's not a man who's easily influenced or manipulated by other people's opinions of him. He doesn't allow himself to get caught up in the debris. He's steady. When his supporters got impatient with his inability to get far enough ahead of Hillary to win the primary, he simply said, "we have a plan - we're going to stick to that plan". He won the primary.

So yeah, I have confidence in Barack Obama and I'm not too timid or ashamed to

[jorge4u]

I believe that the overconfidence Jacob is talking about is the one that can make us all believe that this election is done deal, that Obama is the next President. This, my friend, can backfire by creating complacency among supporters of Obama to the point of siting out the election, "well, my vote is not needed or necessary. Obama will be the President easily." Instead, we need to keep working hard and tirelessly to make sure he becomes POTUS.

Jacob is right about McCain. He's been written off before by the media and his own Party and came back to win the nomination. Writing McCain off is dangerous.

There is nothing to have confidence in our candidate. We all know he is capable of handling everything thrown at him by anyone and anybody. We all know that he has the right ideas to get this country moving again. And we all know where his heart lies.

[biglover]

It doesn't matter if we think it, what matters is our candidate isn't taking anything for granted and he just keeps on keepin on and that is what we should be doing.

I am not second guessing this genius at all. Yes, a genius!!!

[Shiral]

That's my take on this article too. We Obama supportersneed to fight like underdogs and keep at it for the next three weeks. Make no assumptions except the likelihood of Republican dirty tricks. GOTV, GOTV, GOTV!

I do have confdence in Obama himself; he's earned that through his well-run campaign and for his keeping a cool head in very serious times. He can take care of himself. And I hope tomorrow night, he continues as he has begun, defuses all McCain's attacks and WINS.

I don't discount McCain; but I will say he looks more and more desperate, to me. And he appears to have a reverse Midas effect; Everything he touches turns to dross.

[Partisan59]

Obama's supporters should not become overconfident!

Abso-frakkin'-loutely!!

It's not over and if we get complacent then it can and will blow up in our face. Obama needs to keep up the pressure and campaign hard right up to ov 4th. Supporters need to keep pushing and mostly voters need to GET OUT AND VOTE!!!! Don't let this slip away because somebody says it's all over but the shouting.

[rcwblessed]

Democrats are "notoriously lazy" voters, when it comes to showing up at the polls. Avoid the lines... vote an absentee ballot, if it's not too late in your polling area. Spread the word! Bottom line... PLEASE VOTE!

[Glenn1441]

Mr, Heilbrunn: This post would be my first to offer Barack Obama my two-cents worth, but there you have it: I agree with you. As I see it, this third debate is in fact critical, regardless of past elections. It is critical particularly for Obama, who, as the new kid on the block, must turn in a convincing, and more importantly, strong push against McCain -- once and for all. It must be the blow that knocks the tube out of McCain's mouth, sending needles and graphs haywire, and doctors and nurses in into a panic. He must slay McCain, figuratively of course, and without remorse.
And I believe Obama can do that without sacrificing his now famous, calm, cool and collected demeanor He built upon the strength of the first debate when going into the second. It is my hope that his strategy was in fact to build momentum within the debate series, so to deliver a presidential performance that unquestionably solidifies his leading position until Election Day.

[MathIsTruth]

Just because, in the primaries, Larry can make a comeback against Curly and Moe, doesn't mean he can do the same when he's up against a real opponent in November.

In the primaries, McCain didn't have a lot of the people who theoretically should have been his supporters turning against him.

In the primaries, McCain didn't have to defend failed Republican policies.

In the primaries, McCain hadn't shown his impeccable judgement by picking Sarah Palin.

That's not to say something crazy couldn't still happen. But then, I don't see any signs of Obama just coasting to the finish either.

[stanjam]

Obama needs to say this, in very clear terms: Are you better off than you were eight years ago? The Republicans have been in charge for eight years. Do we want to reward them with four more? Or do we want to return to the era when Democrats were in the White House, we had a budget surplus, were paying down the debt, and had good economic times at home.

[loveu2]

and he should also point out that, since the Republicans squandered that surplus, we sure don't want them to be in charge of more of the taxpayers money any longer. And don't forget a war we didn't need that is draining us dry, and the job losses and the lose of moral guidance in the world with our torturing prisoners and the fact that our "leader" cannot speak coherently half the time and the lose of our civil liberties!

[sandyeb2]

McCain CLAIMS to know how to win the war in Afghanistan - if so, why doesn't he tell his BUDDY Petraeus how to do it. If my memor is correct, McCain flew airplanes. He was never in any ground forces so perhaps this is just part of his 72 year old imagination. Oh well, we seniors have to have our "moments'

And guys, don't be fooled by that Alaskan aphrodisiac. After she gets you all hot and bothered, she'll leave you in the dust. She is just out for herself - no matter what the cost.!!!

[winterline]

THIS STORY NEEDS TO BE FOLLOWED UP WHEN CNN VIDEO IS AVAILABLE AND PUT OUT THERE:

Breaking: CNN Running AIP Investigative Reporter!
by Potus Obama 2008
Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 12:20:18 PM PDT
This is going to be short but it need to get out now!

CNN is currently running an in depth report on AIP right now!

Live video going no tape yet!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/14/151519/61

[395spoons]

I expect McCain to claim again and again that he knows how to fix problems.

And that will not be enough to swing voters to his side. PERIOD

[ilpostino]

Lest we forget. McCain was not exactly stellar in the primaries and his campaign was almost broke. Somehow, he turned it around and became the new comeback kid, against most odds. So let's not dismiss his abilities entirely.

A lot of folks out there are still sitting on the fence on this election. (Now that stumps me but whatever...) And there are many who claim they will be voting for Obama but when the rubber hits the road, who will it be?

All I want is for the election to not be even close, one way or another. I want this to be a decisive victory w/o question or debate. The way it appears now, I doubt very much McCain will have a "decisive" victory, if a victory at all.

[loveu2]

I'm with you on this one! Please let it be a landslide for Barack and Joe and the Senate! I hope every Republican candidate realizes that Bush/Cheney/Rove/Rumsfeld, et.al. lost them their chance this year,