Posted on 12/16/2008 11:46:03 AM PST by lewisglad
Ominous music. Grainy footage. Headlines showing that Obama--OMG!--once supported Blagojevich. References in news reports noting that Obama aides might have had talked to Blagojevich about filling the Senate seat Obama vacated. And the kicker: "Questions Remain."
As the indictment filed against Blagojevich notes, the guv was not too pleased with the Obama camp. So it's unlikely that any talks that did occur were of the pay-to-play variety he fancied. But here's the bigger political picture: the GOP ought to be careful in deploying the usual political attacks against Obama in the near future.
At a moment when the country confronts several crises--an economic meltdown and two ongoing wars--a distinct majority of Americans are rooting for Obama. He won the popular vote with 53 percent of the electorate. And my hunch is that given the current economic troubles, there are a number of McCain voters--who are not ideologues or Obama-haters--who would like to see Obama succeed. After all, it's their economy, too. Would these McCain voters (who may be independents) rather watch Obama help preserve modern-day American capitalism or would they prefer to enjoy him being slammed by GOP mud balls?
Put together the Obama voters and these reasonable (and/or worried) McCain voters and you have over 60 percent of the electorate, maybe close to two-thirds. If the Republicans go too far in assailing Obama with sideshow issues or unfounded allegations (or insinuations), it risks angering a fair number of people--and not just Democrats. The GOP's burgeoning Blagojevich-Obama campaign is reminiscent of the McCain camp's use of the Bill Ayers issue.
There's a big mess this nation--and Obama--needs to deal with. Poking at Obama with a partisan stick could backfire. (Do sticks backfire?) Sure, on a difficult matter like the auto bailout, the Republicans may be able to get away with obstructionism. Yet overall and highly partisan efforts to undermine Barack Obama may not be embraced by voters outside the party's hard-core base.
It's often difficult for an opposition party to figure out how to be the Loyal Opposition. In these tough days, that task may be even harder for Republicans. Anyone not yearning for a GOP comeback ought to be delighted to see the Republicans attempting to exploit the Blagojevich scandal and make it more of an issue for Obama than it seems to be. The Blago story is a delicious one. But voters must be worried more about their jobs than that particular opening in the US Senate.
Well, Congressional Quarterly, why don't you ask USA Today, which featured a pic of them laughing together on their opinion page today?
I just wonder how much more successful GW might have been had the DEMONS not obstructed his every effort. Obama was part of that. Its not about success, its about maintaining power and control over the countries wealth.
Weird, you never hear this question asked about the Bush-Hitler crowd, now do we? So the answer is obvious, pour it on.
If the Democrats go too far in assailing Palin with sideshow issues or unfounded allegations (or insinuations), it risks angering a fair number of people—and not just Republican The Dem’s burgeoning anti-Palin campaign is reminiscent of the Kerry camp’s use of the Halliburton issue.
That’s right. We hit a nerve. Keep drilling.
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