In the spring of 2004 I attended a roundtable media discussion with John Kerry at his campaign headquarters. This was not long after Kerry had locked down the Democratic nomination. He was incoherent, droning on in an unorganized fashion about the mistakes of the Bush administration, and various programs he'd push for. There was no concise argument on why he should be elected, and not Bush.
He clearly felt he didn't even need to make such an argument. It was obvious to Kerry that Bush was a failure. He seemed to be living in a kind of Democratic-liberal-Senate cocoon, assuming that its attitudes reflected those of the rest of the country -- or at least, 51 percent of it.
As the campaign wore on, Kerry improved. But this basic, temperamental complacency followed him throughout. We had to wait until the first debate to hear him make a good argument against the Iraq war.
I hate to pile on Obama, as everyone is doing this week. But he seems to share this same temperament: that the blunderbuss attacks coming from the other side are absurd and irrelevant to the "real issues," and thus unworthy of attention, except in rote "I will not be swiftboated" statements. And that the election will ratify what is already obvious to him, and to what he thinks is a majority of Americans.
Dukakis had the same problem. Remember this now-famous SNL sketch from 1988:
Diane Sawyer: You have fifty seconds left, Mr. Vice-President.
George Bush: Let me sum up. On track, stay the course. Thousand points of light.Diane Sawyer: Governor Dukakis. Rebuttal?
Michael Dukakis: I can't believe I'm losing to this guy!
It's amazing that Obama and his team of geniuses could look back at the campaigns of the past 20 years and not devise a strategy to deal with what they're facing now. The Obama campaign is the proverbial aircraft carrier, under attack by a swarm of kamikazes.
Or, maybe Obama really is doubling down on boring and passive. The fundamentals still favor him. And the message of the McCain attacks -- that Obama is rude, or something -- doesn't seem compelling, at least compared the GOP attacks on Dukakis or Kerry, which at least made semi-coherent arguments about leadership. (Dukakis was a down-the-line liberal running during a time of conservative ascendancy; Kerry was a creature of Washington who had trouble articulating clear positions.) It may be that Obama's apparent complacency about dumb attacks is justified -- that people won't buy it this time, that the news cycle gyrations are less important than the political universe believes them to be. We'll see.
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Al Giordano: Kerry Is the No Drama Option for Secretary of State
If Obama and Biden are seeking a pro-active and self-motivated secretary of state in harmony with their own visions, one that will command immediate respect, Kerry is looking better for the position every day.
M.S. Bellows, Jr.: Unconventional Wisdom: Obama-Kerry 2008!
Over the last few weeks, we have seen a man transformed, a man infused with energy, enthusiasm and a lightness of spirit that balance his gravitas. Kerry is inspired and inspiration is what Barack Obama needs.
I also dont think running a campaign is as easy as everyone thinks it is.
Rove and Schmidt have a lot of experience.
As we have seen any thing can be turned back on you as an attack.
I do think the suggestions about message are good. Whats your message?
Wages down.
Prices up.
Pensions gone.
Jobs gone.
Since the end of Vietnam, the Republicans have used an effective catch phrase: "the Dems are weak on defense". Roe v. Wade came on the heels of the war ending and since then the Republicans have become the party of "American and moral values". All bogus and phony! But guess what?! It has stuck in the psyche of the average American!
Why have the Dems NOT fought back to change this perception? Why do they keep electing nominees who are easy to label as elitist liberals? Why can't the media step up and tell the truth? Because even they have been cowered by the "liberal media" label. Just look at this most uncalled for/unnecessary Iraq war. The "Republicans want America to win while the Dems want America to lose". Can you believe such idiocy, such banality and sheer audacity of criminality?!
Obama and the Dems have all the facts, all the issues and 8 years of catastrophe on their side and they are still being slapped around by the shameless Republicans. ONLY Bill Clinton understood how to fight back and see what did the Dems and the media do to him in '08?
Dems deserve to lose and they have no one to blame but themselves ...
Every four years, the Republicans bash and the Republicans define. Every four years, the Dems get bashed and the Dems get defined. The one Dem that became the only 2 term President since FDR was shabbily shunned this primary season by both the DNC and the media. The first "black President" soon became a "racist and a raving lunatic" ... go figure ...
The one who won the popular vote, all major demographics and the popular vote, Hillary, was superceded by the "super delegates" for a new "hope for the Dem party", the one who would bring about "change", the one with no experience and no track record was now the Dems best bet?!
The Dems will probably lose again, and just as in '80/'84/'88/2000 and 2004, they will have no one to blame but themselves!!!
McCain / Palin continue to insult the intelligence of the nation, Obama / Biden respect that intelligence!
As we all well know (I hope), national polls mean nothing in an electoral college system where only state results matter. The Obama camp knows that they still lead significantly in the electoral college. They know that people who are undecided at this point in any presidential campaign are, barring any major scandal in the interim, likely to stay undecided until the week before the election. They're not wasting their ammunition at this point.
Watch over the next 2-3 weeks, and you will see the Obama campaign slowly ramping up to their final assault. The McCain campaign has nothing to run on but lies and personal attacks. They are dead in the water on the issues. The only place that the GOP has any sort of broad public support is in the area of anti-terrorism, which polls show is a top issue for only 9% of Americans.
It's the economy, stupid, and once again the Dems are going to trample the GOP as Clinton did in the 90's because of the prevalence of this issue.
Also, all of us who post here for Obama are going to get up off of our butts and head down to the local Obama office and volunteer some time, right?
Moderate Americans (the ones who decide elections) are not buying Obama's tax plan.
Increasing taxes on big business and the rich will in effect be raising taxes on the middle class. (Does anyone not believe big business will simply pass on the costs?)
The smartest thing the Republicans have done is make the argument that taxing buisnesses during a time of economic hardship would be a disaster.
Obama needs to back off his tax plan if he wants to have a chance of winning.
It's the economy stupid.
If you or I say we won't pay any taxes we'd be in prison. Now, how does it help our nation for rich cats and rich corporations to pay no taxes or hardly any taxes? If that is good than it is good for the rest of us to pay nothing in taxes.
A civilized country costs money to run. People who do not wish to pay taxes in our commonwealth ought to move to countries that have no income taxes, like Afghanistan! There are no regulations over there, either. The perfect free enterprise system if I ever saw one. ;-)
Maverick.. A 60's TV show about a con man.
He IS hitting back as are our 527s.
Obama is not repeating Kerry's mistakes.
It is "unbelievable".
As in I don't believe it. This is not an accident.
Democrats are really the game or the con being run on the people by the fascists who rule America. Democrats are put up as the so called voice of the left, and people put their faith in them so they don't have to go out into the streets and revolt. And as the fascists would much prefer to avoid a revolution, they are pleased with this game.
We the people are starting to wake up, though it is difficult when the neocons now have such a great network of fake liberal sites to continue running this con on all Americans.
Obama will win, because the neocons know the temperature in America is getting dangerously hot. But they will make damn sure that it is no landslide victory so we all see this wimpy behavior that is so "amazing". And if Obama's lead gets too big, don't worry, Joe Biden will say something outrageous to hurt that lead.
We will be left with a thin Democratic majority which the Obama people will use as an excuse for continuing on with the fake war on terror and most Bush policies.
Democracy in America is dead.
Wacko liberals' obsession with Sarah Palin is going to cost Obama the election.
Obama tends to ramble a bit getting into his answers to questions, which I interpret as thoughtful, because his comments are honest, comprehensive, heartfelt and sensible. GOP'ers, however, whose reaction I have read in the press, heard on Fox or discussed in person with a supporter, seem to believe that Obama is not thoughtful, but rather unsure and inexperienced.
An excellent example is the Rick Warren forum. Obama's responses were thoughtful and he talked about various points of an issue while Warren sat there looking at his watch. McCain simply belted out applause lines and the audience ate it up while Warren beamed.
The electorate's attention span is about one or two sentences. (Most voters would never read this far into my comment!) and my advice to Obama is to develop more of those one-sentence applause lines if he wants to win.
with the middle ten per cent still undecided.
repubs know this demos dont have a clue
mc war is about to pull off the upset of t he year