In politics, as in many things, timing is extremely important. Barack Obama, for example understood that despite, or perhaps because of, concerns about his lack of experience in Washington, 2008 represented a unique opportunity for him to pursue his presidential aspirations. Similarly the Swift Boating of John Kerry in 2004 was effective because it occurred early enough in the campaign that it helped the Republicans define the Democratic nominee.
This rather obvious point appears to be lost on the Republican Party as the general election approaches. The news last week that wealthy Republican backer Joe Ricketts was contributing to an anti-Obama super PAC that, among other things, was considering revisiting the Jeremiah Wright story, demonstrates that the Republican campaign efforts are still struggling with issues of timing. The news that the Jeremiah Wright story was possibly going to be used against Obama was met by concerned responses from the Obama camp, including the news that former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was very angry about it. The question of why Rahm Emanuel being angry qualifies as news notwithstanding, it is likely that this response was not heartfelt, but a campaign tactic.
Within a few days of this story breaking, Ricketts backed away from this and indicated he will likely not use the Jeremiah Wright angle. This was a wise decision as the Jeremiah Wright story is unlikely to move a lot of voters this year. It might have have had a bigger impact than it did in 2008, and Republicans who believe that candidate John McCain should have gone after Obama harder on this issue may be right, but the attack will have significantly less impact this time around. The potency of the Jeremiah Wright issue was that it could have been used in 2008 to define candidate Obama to an electorate that did not know much about him. That opportunity no longer exists. While the Jeremiah Wright story may be potent rhetoric for strident anti-Obama voters who want to see the president as a radical African-American who hates America, it will have little impact on most voters, including, importantly, most swing voters.
Because he has been president for almost four years, Obama is now well known by almost all Americans. Accordingly, it will be extremely difficult to redefine him during this election, particularly if the effort to redefine him is based on what is, by now, old news. Reelection campaigns are usually determined by evaluations of the incumbent, as well as the appeal of the challenger, not by reintroducing the incumbent president to the American people as Ricketts seems to want to do.
Ricketts will probably never run these ads and Jeremiah Wright might not reappear during the 2012 campaign, but this strategy is nonetheless a reminder of the power of the radical anti-Obama faction within the Republican Party and their ability to damage Mitt Romney's chances of defeating Obama. The Romney campaign team understands that to win this race they need to persuade swing voters that Obama has failed to help the economy recover, and more generally has done a poor job as president. This will be a difficult, but doable task as the economy continues to show some signs of recovery and many voters have long enough memories to remember both how bad the economy was when Obama became president and how little the Republican Party in congress has done to help the economy.
For Romney to make this argument successfully, it is important not just to remain focused on the economy but to avoid having the campaign sidetracked by those on the far right who have a different agenda than Romney and an understanding of politics and President Obama that is sufficiently frightening that it alienates many potential Romney supporters. It looks like Romney has managed to beat back Ricketts' attempt to steer the message in the wrong direction, but it is also likely that this will be an ongoing struggle for Romney and his campaign team.
There is a significant faction in the Republican Party that still appears to believe that Barack Obama would never have become president if the American people knew the "truth" about him. This is why issues like Obama's place of birth, alleged connections to radicals of various political stripes and plans to destroy America never quite go away. Those holding these views might be on the fringe of the Republican Party, but it is a big, and surprisingly influential fringe. Moreover, no major Republican official, least of all Romney, has stood up to this group within the Republican Party. Until Romney does that, he can expect characters like Ricketts with equally destructive ideas for how to go after President Obama to keep appearing during this campaign.
Follow Lincoln Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LincolnMitchell
Derrick Kitts: "Oregon, Oregon, Oregon"
Bob Burnett: 10 Reasons Obama Can Win
 |
 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
Heres a hint.............those that dont know their history, are doomed to repeat it.
Even in full context, the typical Fox broadcaster makes at least ten such comments a day. Romney's flops are legion.
Rev Wright was not Obama's mentor. He was a pastor of a church where they attended from time to time. Were the outrage based on genuine facts, there would be footage of weekly outrages. One 20-second comment out of context in 20 years is not outrageous. The lying use of it is.
Had we been given the type of bottom of the pond dredging that Bain Capital is going to be given about issues of friendship Obama had with Wright, Ayles and other people not to mention what exactly a community organizer does and how that exactly qualifies him for President, then maybe we wold know more about who and what Obama was all about.
However, that was not the case, McCain did not have a set big enough to go after Obama, Chicago style and he lost comfortably to Obama.
Romney has got to take the kid gloves off and go after Obama exactly like they are already going after his wife (never worked a day in her life) and Bain Capital. Then we might learn somethings about Obama that we don't necessarily want to know and might make more than a few independents decide he was a bad choice back in 2008!
Tell us what Rev. Wright has done that is so bad.
Hillary Clinton and her machine did not leave a stone unturned during the democratic primaries.
The election was lost when the conservative economic policies blew up our economy and McCain and the republicans had no answer to solve it like they don't have any answers today.
When Bush invited McCain and Obama into the White House to come up with a game plan, Obama took the reins out of Bush's hand during that meeting. Obama was the leader in the room and the American people saw it.
And the people are ignorant so it works.
Reuters/Ipsos Poll (5/3 - 5/7) 49 42 Obama +7
National Journal Poll (4/19 - 4/22) 47 39 Obama +8
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl Poll (4/13 - 4/17) 49 43 Obama +6
I remember when the Republicans were convinced voters didn't vote for them because they didn't "know" the Republican message. They're so enthralled with their own ideology, they are incapable understanding why others don't agree with it - they must be idiots, or socialists, or just never heard the "message."
So now you have the "if they only knew" crowd trying to steer the Republican campaign effort. Hopefully they'll "succeed" as well as they did previously trying to get out the Rep "message."
"I'm running for office for Pete's sake, we can't have illegals" –Mitt Romney, recalling his reaction when he learned that there were illegal aliens working the ground on his property, employed by a firm that he subsequently fired (October 2011)
"I have absolutely no idea where my birth certificate is."
Mitt Romney, on the Letterman Show, February 2, 2011
I can find more coherent policy criticism of the president from the LEFT than anywhere on the Right.
Despite its deep spending cuts (including to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security), his plan’s $6.6 trillion in tax cuts weighted toward the wealthy and corporations ensures that we’ll continue to run large deficits in perpetuity."
"(Reuters) - President Barack Obama laid out a $3.6 trillion plan on Monday to cut budget deficits partly by raising taxes on the rich, but Republicans rejected it as a political stunt and made clear the proposal has little chance of becoming law.
Vowing to veto any plan that relies solely on spending cuts to reduce deficits, the Democratic president's recommendations set the stage for an ideological fight with Republicans opposed to tax increases that will stretch through Election Day 2012.
"I will not support any plan that puts all the burden of closing our deficit on ordinary Americans," Obama said. "We are not going to have a one-sided deal that hurts the folks who are most vulnerable."
President Obama has continually done the the exact right thing in the face of these desperate, irrational fear based attacks. He has ignored them, and made light of them when appropriate. That is how one acts "Presidential." I do not want my President calling anyone names, including crazy, especially when they deserve it. Crazy is a sickness, whether afflicted or adopted, crazy people need help. Less dramatically, President Obama has always left the door open for the GOP to return to the work of the People.
I am hoping the next class of Tea Party freshmen will put the exclamation point on why extremists of any stripe are harmful to Government. The prideful ignorance and offensive, trivial legislation put forth by these incompetents would make the best campaign ad ever I think. Simply open with a few pithy economic statistics and then list every bill passed by the Congress and end with "Is this what you sent these people to do?"
Everyone already knows that Obama is going to put America on the path to 3rd World Status based on his hot mic comments to the Russian leader. He just needs to get past this election then he will have some room to sell out his country in favor of his world views.
Only if "everyone" just means you and those who refuse to rate President Obama's performance on the facts alone. The United States will NEVER be at a "third world status." Have you ever been to the third world? I have. President Obama's world views are "protect Americans and their interests fiercely," and "Repair the damage done by Atwater, Rove and Cheney ." That is not selling out, that is heroism. You already benefit from President Obama's efforts whether you admit it or not.
There is no one on the Republican side with the calm intelligence to lead. They are either too calm or too mentally challanged by reality to make a good president.
What was unemployment when Bush left office?
~George W. Bush, 3/13/02
Bush aims to boost minority home ownership June 17, 2002:
"President Bush touted his goal Monday of boosting minority home ownership by 5.5 million before the end of the decade through grants to low-income families and credits to developers.
"Too many American families, too many minorities, do not own a home. He urged Congress to expand the American Dream Down-Payment Fund, which would provide $200 million in grants over five years to low-income families who are first-time home buyers.
The money would be used for down payments, one of the major obstacles to home ownership, Bush said.
It is anticipated that 40,000 low-income families -- receiving about $5,000 each -- would benefit from those grants, he added.
To encourage the construction of single-family homes in neighborhoods where affordable housing is scarce, developers would receive $2.4 billion in tax credits to build lower-cost housing in distressed areas.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the federal Home Loan Banks -- the government-sponsored corporations that handle home mortgages -- will increase their commitment to minority markets by more than $440 billion, Bush said.
Under one of the initiatives launched by Freddie Mac, consumers with poor credit will be able to obtain mortgages with interest rates that automatically decline after a period of consistent payments, he added."
OBAMA 2012