Posted on 09/02/2008 1:54:27 PM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
If McCain can show that Obama is a far-left liberal, he can win in November. A liberal like Obama can win only if he can paint himself as a centrist.
With a message slightly more appealing to his far left sponsors than Howard Dean's message four years earlier, Obama limped across the finish line first. He won, and Dean lost, even though Dean was far more attractive to centrist Democrats.
What happened? The same MoveOn-George Soros-radical left coalition supported both candidates. The difference was the black voter. Were Obama white, the black vote would have split and Hillary would have coasted to the nomination. Instead the newly-formed extreme left and black voter coalition was enough to carry the day.
Still, Obama should have lost. The Hillary team was either blind or in denial. They failed to organize properly in the caucus states, letting Obama score a disproportionately high number of delegates when measured against the popular vote. They argued experience (Ready on Day One), when experience never won or lost an election for anyone. But the most egregious error was the decision not to attack Obama.
The Clinton camp made a calculation that the negative reaction to such attacks would be greater than the benefits. This mistake was breathtaking. They may have been able to afford such high minded behavior if they were coasting to the nomination as planned, but Iowa should have put that fantasy to rest. The Clinton team was aware of Obama's association with Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers, Father Pfleger, and Saul Alinsky, yet they refused to use them against Obama. By the time these associations became public, Obama's lead was insurmountable.
The idea that there is a greater cost than benefit to attacking an opponent is simply wrong. Al Gore ran the original Willie Horton ad against Dukakis in 1988. He used lies to attack Bill Bradley mercilessly in 2000, yet he suffered no ill effects. Hillary was armed with a much stronger weapon than Gore. She had the truth on her side: Obama really did embrace these radicals throughout his career. Negative advertisements would have created some disaffected Democrats, but far fewer than those scared away from Obama, and the generic advantage the Democrats enjoy this year would have made the general election a shoe-in no matter what.
Most political strategists are unaware of a basic principle. Being on the right side, or more popular side, of an issue does not always translate into votes. The issues that count are those that will change voters’ minds, not those with which voters agree but arouse no particular passion. It was a waste of money when Hillary's senate opponent in 2006, Jean Pirro, ran advertisements saying Hillary was going to run for President and not finish her term. Pirro's campaign had conducted polling and 80% of the voters wanted her to finish her term. But asking what the voters wanted was the wrong question. It should have been, "Would you change your vote if you knew Hillary intended to run for President?" That question would have polled near zero.
What are the important issues in this election? Perhaps the economy will be at the top of the list, perhaps the war, or something else. The one thing for sure, however, is that if Obama is shown to be the far left liberal he is, he will lose. Although political strategists always try to use experience or the lack thereof as an issue, it is a waste of time. Review past elections and you’ll see that Carter, Clinton and Bush all won without any meaningful experience. What will always lose, on the other hand, is liberalism. A majority of American voters support conservative positions almost across the board, requiring Democrats to obfuscate.
A liberal Democrat has never won the Presidency except when he successfully painted himself as a centrist. McCain should stop adopting the failed Hillary strategy of touting his experience, trivializing Obama's, and being above the "negative attacks." To win he must go on the offense and paint Obama as the extreme liberal that he is. Where is Lee Atwater when we need him?
If a candidate is willing to lie about an opponent, he should let a surrogate do it. If the truth will swing votes his way, he should do it himself. The idea that negative ads should be reserved for 527s is simply wrong. If a 527 supporting McCain runs a truthful advertisement or attack, it will be marginalized by the army of liberal press who favor Democrats. If McCain makes the attack himself, however, Obama will have to answer, giving rise to more publicity and more scrutiny. Also, McCain will have numerous opportunities to refute all critics. The opposition press will shine a spotlight on what he says rather than shooting the 527 messenger. Any focus on Wright, Ayers, Rezko, etc., can only help McCain.
What are Obama's chances? The extreme left and black voter coalition will support him, the green lobby will fall in line - pretty much all the usual suspects. But these people vote Democrat in every election. The people he will lose if his far left leanings are exposed are the Reagan Democrats, and many disaffected Republicans who have recently registered Independent or Democrat (over 10% of all voters). McCain has only one challenge. He must let voters know who Obama really is in the face of a press corps that will do or say anything to get him elected.
Michael Sall writes for FamilySecurityMatters and appears here with permission.
It’s 100& the only way to win...TELL THEM HE IS THE NUMBER ONE LIBERAL TAX AND SPEND SENATOR.
Tell them he is the same old, same old regardless of his talk!
The word liberal has to be used over and over in TV ads in battleground states.
The short answer without reading the article is: BY EXPOSING OBAMA FOR WHO HE REALLY IS—NO EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE, THE MOST LIBERAL SENATOR IN THE SENATE, A MAN THAT SUPPORTS INFANTICIDE, A MAN WITH TIES TO A TERRORIST, A MAN WHO FOR YEARS CALLED HATE MONGER AND EXTREME WHITE RACIST REV. WRIGHT HIS SPIRITUAL LEADER. A VILE BEHIND THE SCENES CAMPAIGNER ALL THE WHILE ACTING AS IF HE WOULD NEVER BLOODY THE FAMILIES OF HIS COMPETITORS NOW STOOPING TO DESTROY A 17 YEAR OLD FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT GIRL. What the hey?
I believe we need to show the US the way the opposition party holds a “civil demonstration like this:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09022008/news/nationalnews/protest_turns_into_mini_riot_127101.htm
Attacking Delegates:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_10358709?source=most_emailed
Are not ashamed of their behavior, and are filmed by the Media, which is afraid to show Americans. I am amazed the the DNC brown shirts all descended on Saint Paul and tried to keep delegates from making the convention. Reminds of the Brown Shirts of Nazi Germany.
And dilettante.
Its important to bang away at the fact that he has never had a job, never made a payroll, never made a command decision, never accomplished anything at all.
And what little he has done, he has to lie about.
And he’s allied with Biden. Truth impaired, the guy you have to pay his son if you want to talk to him. That guy.
Two empty suits. One eloquent, the other affable and sleazy. Neither of them bring anything to the table other than a mouth and an apetite.
This isn’t just a guns or butter election. The One and his congressional minions will tax us at OVER 50% and take our guns.
Do you want, on the one hand, to send 1/2 your earnings/paycheck to unknown feds who then decide what’s good for you....and take your last line of defense against the government with the other hand? Does the government deserve at least $10,000 more per year of your money (plus or minus a couple of thousand). Have it to spare, do you?
Rove has already told us something that I think is the way to go: attack the Democrats in Congress. When people realize how bad the current Congress is (and aware that the Dims rule the Congress, not the Republicans), they would prefer a divided government as a check each other.
Rove has already told us something that I think is the way to go: attack the Democrats in Congress. When people realize how bad the current Congress is (and aware that the Dims rule the Congress, not the Republicans), they would prefer a divided government as a check to each other.
I think in order to win in November, McCain must get more Electoral Votes than Obama.
P.S. The people say "ANWAR". Go for it. The time is right!!
I see McCain winning in a cakewalk. Working class whites aren’t about to vote for Stuttering Barry. I can see McCain peeling Michigan, Pennsylvania, and even Wisconsin away from Obama this time around, in addition to all the States Bush won in 2004.
I agree. The Left has taken the gloves off with Gov. Palin and her family. Now it’s time to life the lid on the sewer where Ayers, Rezko, Dohrn and Marshall dwell. No quarter - no compromise. Turn the 527’s loose and let’s git ‘er done. For every buck you give to the campaign, spare another for AIP or whoever takes point most aggressively this year.
We Freepers need to keep encouraging the bloggers and the small town editors who write commentaries about Obama and his radical friends.
The MSM is not going to do it.
I would be pretty sure the McCain camp is looking at the number of Google hits for websites with the keywords “Obama” and “Bill/William Ayers” which is now over 440,000 or websites with the keywords “Obama” and “Tony Rezko” which is now over 350,000.
We can do our part by complimenting those who are exposing Obama’s radical friends by sending them a thank you note.
As one who has run internet based advocacy campaigns, a thankyou means a lot.
The only reason O is even in this race is because his minions don’t want another four years of the GOP.
Amen. I'm not a religious man, but I am praying this year.
To both of them I say, be a vessel of God's love, be an arrow from His bow, be the happy warrior in His service, and be yourself. This is very winnable.
mccain must be able to show as clear a contrast with obwana as reagan successfully did with carter
He could offer to enforce our laws and forget about amnesty since 80% of the public want that. Hopefully he’s learning who his base is because it’s not illegal aliens.
Thus far McCain has not disappointed his conservative base. At the Rick Warren Saddleback Forum McCain told his base that in no uncertain terms he supported their conservative ideals.
Now he has put those words into action by selecting a VP who has very conservative ideals.
Now it is up to the conservative base to get actively involved in this election.
When we do, McCain will satisfy our desires for conservatism on all fronts. It is up to us to really support him now.
“Thus far McCain has not disappointed his conservative base.”
Sure he has. Even Palin admits that, but she thinks he’ll come around. And picking her shows he might. We’ll see.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073277/posts
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin joins Lars to discuss ANWR, bears and jobs (July interview)
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