August 7, 2008
THEY WOULDN'T KNOW TOUGH IF IT BIT THEM ON THEIR PROFANITIES:
Obama Hits Back, Too Softly For Some (Jonathan Weisman and Perry Bacon Jr., 8/07/08, Washington Post)
Such attacks have raised worries among Democratic strategists -- haunted by John F. Kerry's 2004 run and Al Gore's razor-thin loss in 2000 -- that Obama has not responded in kind with a parallel assault on McCain's character. Interviews with nearly a dozen Democratic strategists found those concerns to be widespread, although few wished to be quoted by name while Obama's campaign is demanding unity."Democrats are worried," said Tad Devine, a top strategist for Kerry who thinks Obama must stay on the high road. "We've been through two very tough elections at the national level, and it's very easy to lose confidence."
Obama's latest ad may be his toughest yet, using words and images to link McCain to President Bush and concluding: "The original maverick? Or just more of the same?"
But Democratic strategists said that it is nothing like the character attacks by McCain, and that the response could be far nastier, perhaps raising McCain's ethical scrape in the Keating Five savings and loan scandal, mocking his family wealth and designer shoes, or highlighting his age. After McCain economic adviser Phil Gramm suggested that the United States has become "a nation of whiners," Democratic strategists said Obama should have immediately started an ad blitz.
"If somebody attacks you, you have to frame the attack: 'This is the same old politics, or better yet, the Bush-Rove politics,' " something Obama has done well, said one Democratic strategist. "At the same time you do that, you have to counterattack. You don't want to look like a whiner. You want to look tough."
Mr. Obama could spend all $500 million he's supposed to raise and he still wouldn't be able to run enough ads to explain the Keating affair or why anyone should care. It's the type of thing that everyone in the Beltway remembers but no one in America does, nor cared in the first place. Recall that the Rezko stuff with Mr. Obama just happened and was in the news throughout the primaries and it got zero traction. What's tough at a Common Cause meeting is white noise at the corner lunch counter. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 7, 2008 9:13 AM
"Obama has not responded in kind with a parallel assault on McCain's character."
Other than calling him a racist, of course. Multiple times.
Dear Obama Campaign Staff: PLEASE attack John McCain by "highlighting his age" and talking about Congressional scandals from 20+ years ago. That's the sure way to make sure Unicorn Boy gets elected! Sincerely, Bill & Hillary Clinton
Posted by: b at August 7, 2008 12:51 PMMcCain is vulnerable to at least one last-minute sucker punch: the dissolution of his first marriage. He knows this, of course, and I suspect he will preempt it. If not, he'd better have a VERY rapid response set up. In either event, he should involve his ex, who apparently has addressed the matter on his behalf in previous campaigns.
Posted by: ghostcat at August 7, 2008 1:06 PMghostcat: Nope. Any mention of McCain's first marriage immediately leads to his POW experience, which reminds people why they respect him so much in the first place. Unicorn Boy's campaign won't go there, unless they're even more galactically stupid then they've shown themselves to be thus far...
Posted by: b at August 7, 2008 1:21 PMI read just today that his first wife might actually be doing some campaigning for him. (Sorry, didn't note the site. That's an exercise for the student...) So maybe the McCain campaign isn't as incompetent and disorganized as we've been lead to believe.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at August 7, 2008 1:50 PMb -
The divorce issue is the sort of thing you raise in the final 48 hours of a close campaign ... with little time for any response to be heard above the inevitable media shrieks. McCain has to be expecting it.
Posted by: ghostcat at August 7, 2008 6:03 PM
"Obama has not responded in kind with a parallel assault on McCain's character."
Has McCain assaulted Obama's character? He has only shown two "funny" ads with Obama's words and deeds, nothing about his "impeccable" character yet.
"Obama's latest ad may be his toughest yet, using words and images to link McCain to President Bush." I have a feeling when we come closer to election time, people will begin to miss Bush. Linking McCain to Bush is good for McCain. After all, instead of blowing with the winds like a weather vane, Bush has saved endless number of women from becoming embyro factories, allowed the US economy to wait out Al's global warming, saved the US from another Vietnam.
On the other hand, Obama can't even link himself to Clinton's "good times".
Posted by: ic at August 7, 2008 12:40 PM