Posted on 05/16/2008 2:24:33 AM PDT by Red Steel
CHICAGO (AP) -- Perhaps no one took greater comfort in the Republican Party's third straight loss of a long-held House seat this week than Barack Obama, who says the results point to clear limits in the effectiveness of attack ads he expects this fall.
The Democratic presidential candidate played a prominent role in all three special elections to fill vacant GOP seats, and he landed on the winning side each time.
In recent contests in Louisiana and Mississippi, Republicans or their allies ran TV ads linking the Democratic House nominees to Obama, warning that a vote for them was a tacit endorsement of Obama's agenda, which the ads described as very liberal. In Mississippi, ads against Democrat Travis Childers also tied him to Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The efforts failed, putting Democrats in House seats the GOP had considered safe, and sending waves of panic through Republican circles nationwide.
In the third race, in Obama's home state of Illinois, Democrat Bill Foster ran ads showing the senator endorsing him, and he claimed the seat long held by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, a Republican.
Obama said the outcomes bode well for his expected race against Republican John McCain this fall, although he acknowledged the power of rumors that are spread mainly through the Internet about his faith and patriotism. He told reporters this week that he can overcome the falsehoods if he has enough time to campaign in battleground states and let voters get to know him better.
Meanwhile, Obama practically dared Republican congressional candidates to keep linking their Democratic opponents to him.
"The same kinds of tactics that the Republican Party has been employing over the last several election cycles just aren't going to work this time," he told reporters on his charter plane after receiving former rival John Edwards' endorsement Wednesday. "I mean, they did everything they could, right? They ran Wright. They ran Obama. In Louisiana, they ran Pelosi. The same way that in previous election cycles they had run Hillary or other folks they thought would scare off voters. It didn't work."
Obama said Americans want "change in this election," and they especially care about health care, jobs, gasoline prices, college affordability and the Iraq war.
"The Republican Party better be prepared to debate issues," he said, "because that's what people are focused on right now."
Still, Obama faces several challenges, including the need to attract working-class voters who sided heavily with Hillary Rodham Clinton in many states. She beat him by 41 percentage points in West Virginia's primary this week, a shellacking that Obama tried to explain to reporters.
"Part of the issue with West Virginia was, we just didn't have a lot of time to get there" to campaign, he said. "I'm not well-known there. You know, some of these e-mails and rumors that we talked about have penetrated in West Virginia more deeply than they have in some other states. Debunking that stuff is relatively simple if you are on the ground talking to people. If you're not, then it's tough."
Obama said his primary losses to Clinton in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other places do not mean he cannot carry such states in November against McCain.
"I would just take a look at where the national polls are right now," he said. "We're beating McCain handily, we're doing really well among independents. There may be concerns among some voters because they don't know me that well. And I think that the longer we campaign, and the better they get to know me and my agenda, the better we'll do."
The problem the GOP has had for the past 4 years is that they won’t attack the Rats even if they’re right.
I feel like I am beating a dead horse because I find myself so often here on FR saying, “We need leadership...”.
Why in times like these can't we seem to find one man, or woman willing to stand up to the toxic left in this country?
The American left is driving us into economic disaster, into weak National security positions, into the cultural wasteland. The Republican party has all but surrendered.
I am not a pessimist by nature, but I am getting the feeling that we are truly doomed.
I feel like I am beating a dead horse because I find myself so often here on FR saying, “We need leadership...”.
Why in times like these can't we seem to find one man, or woman willing to stand up to the toxic left in this country?
The American left is driving us into economic disaster, into weak National security positions, into the cultural wasteland. The Republican party has all but surrendered.
I am not a pessimist by nature, but I am getting the feeling that we are truly doomed.
The same way that the same type of people voted Adolph Hitler into power...Ignorance is expensive...and will cost this country dearly if these people get back in power.
I don’t like McCain. But I will hold my nose and vote, because I don’t believe in surrendering to the enemy. And make no mistake - the Dems and Liberal Repubs ARE the enemy.
I know McCain is a “moderate”. He will buck us on some issues and piss us off mightily. However - I cannot in good conscience stand idly by and do NOTHING (i.e., not vote) and let the likes of B. Hussein Obabma and the long line of letfy/socialist/communist scum behind him, propping and propelling him forward, get control of the country.
He/they will control the military and the coercive force that it represents. Remember Waco? Remember Ruby Ridge? That’s what you get with Dems in control. Murdered American Citizens.
He/they will control local and state law enforcement, and the coercive force that THAT represents (witness what is going on in Philly right now with DEM mayor Thugnutter and DEM police Chief Thugramsey and the DEM controlled City Council - hell, pick ANY Dem-controlled city/state). Want to exercise your Constitutional, Civil, and basic HUMAN RIGHT to keep and bear arms and defend yourself? Forget it. That’s what you get when Dems get in control.
He/they will have a criminally-collusive Congress to tax the middle class right out existence. Want to keep what you earn, so you can better your own family? Forget it.
He/they will have Treaty-making power to bind us to the UN and other international socialist global-control organizations. Want to be dragged before a World Criminal Court for publicly critizing Hugo Chavez (like in here?) or some other commie thug dictator? You’ll get it.
If anyone wants this, then stay home. Don’t vote. You’ll get it. Maybe not immediately, but then again, we really don’t know what kind of timetable they have, do we? They may want to strike while the iron is hot. They’ve been building their little revolution for the last 50 years now.
He did bitc# slap Ackbar around real good on the issue of kissing up to the terror masters. Bush has his good days too.
The democrat party was in complete power over this country, up and down federal buraucracy, for decades. With glimpses of Republican control of this or that, including Reagan Pubbies who never had control over the judiciary, executive, legislative and agencies at the same time—ever—the democrats are determined to bring all that power back under the party control.
Ruthless in their efforts to get back power at any cost, I suspect the present course of action and strategy was outlined in detail at that private Soros get together a while back. Specifically, I think Soros and other wealthy people intended to distract pubbies and use Hillary’s FBI files to good use. Further, the democrats and communist progressive/socialists among them decided on the plan to create a one party system here, just like old USSR.
Why the Pubbies didn’t act may have had as much to do with inter and intra-agency sabotage as anything. Then, there’s all that scandal that could be offloaded. How is it a Pubbie could be hung on some lobbying/sex thing when Clinton couldn’t? Or the S Burgler? Or that Jefferson fellow, caught dead to rights? How are so many democrats able to keep their seats when they have committed crimes, felonies, etc.?
Also, the citizenry needs to dump corporate owned media forthwith. It sells the stories it’s paid to sell. This probably also goes back decades..to Cronkite and before that. Anderson Cooper, for cry-eyed, studied in North Vietnam.
For the life of me though, I don’t know why citizens should allow operatives at polling places, ‘independent’ observers, etc. overseeing votes, OR PERMITTING RECOUNTS. Count the ballots ‘til you win worked...until 2000.
Every villified person we’re hearing about, every argument screamed and overshouted on the various news programs, only serves to tell us all exactly what the feint and jab is, along with the next democrat move.
/rant
Does anyone know the outcome of the NC Dem primary that was part of the target in the ad the state GOP ran using Rev Wright (the one that McCain attacked the NCGOP about) ??
The fuss about the ad got tons of attention, but the elections itself got hardly any.
“There may be concerns among some voters because they don’t know me that well.”
Good grief. You’ve been campaigning for what seems like a century now. Every move you make is covered by your willing accomplices the MSM, always in the most favorable light. And voters still don’t know you that well? What a stupid excuse.
Hooooorah.
You make a great point.
To sorta paraphrase Harry Truman (possibly the last decent Democratic President), "The ads told the truth and Obama though it was an attack".
Sort of like he thought President Bush was talking about HIM when the President made his speech about the evils of appeasement and the futility of negotiating with terrorists to the Israeli Knesset. Turns out Bush was talking about James Earl.
Glad I’m not the only one who sees it, bro.
OOORah, indeed...keep the faith.
And keep yer powder dry...
CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS and PBS all are 24-7 constant attack ads against Bush and Republicans.
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