Why not talk about it...

[liberalcommontater]

I tuned into a morning talk show this morning and the commentators were criticizing Bob Johnson for bringing up Barack Obama's drug use. They agreed that someone should take him aside and give him the news, shut up. They also said that he did not speak for any significant segment of black America.

My issue is that we will be on defense if we wait for the Republicans to frame each of these issues. Better that we should air them and either debunk them or minimize their impact. Senator Obama's constant refrain, that these issues represent the old politics, that they are distractions, will not play, imo, in the general election.

Chicago corruption and relationships, experience and Michelle's supposed "whitey" comment are three issues that come to mind. These issues do not need to have any truth to them to impact the campaign.

1) The Rezko conviction and Obama's relationship to him will be a big issue. "That's not the Tony Rezko I knew" is lame. If like with Rev. Wright the issue goes through the stages of:

He is my mentor,
I disagree with these comments,
I disassociate myself from him,
I quit the church-

Obama will become to be preceived just like any other politician. Part of his strength as a candidate is his difference from other politicians.

2) Like it or not, McCain will make a big deal about his experience and Obama's relative lack. We can say all day that the kind of experience is what matters, but we then need examples and testimonials to highlight that qualitative experience.

3) The non-denial denial about Michelle's "whitey" comment fits with the, "I'm not going to dignify that question with an answer" reply, but by fall it will only grow larger and more debilitating to the campaign unless it is nipped now.


Which leads me to the Clinton campaign. Obama IS the presumptive nominee. However, between now and August, if there is a deal breaker scandal or scandals, a real one, better that we should recognize it and bring it out ourselves. This would make the issue less powerful for the Republicans in the fall and if the issue is big enough, and I mean BIG enough, Hillary should be the nominee.

In post after post on the GDP I have said that the goal must be to win in November. I still feel this way today.

[stillcool]

1. Aren't you a little late to the party?

It really is too bad that the Junior Senator from New York has no faith that the Democratic Party will choose her as the nominee should something befall the Presumptive Nominee.
the sky will open, the light will come down, a lightening bolt will strike Senator Obama, and the celestial choirs will be singing my name.

Interview with Clinton: One Day at a Time
Thursday, Mar. 06, 2008
TIME: Can you envision a point at which--if the race stays this close--Democratic Party elders would step in and say, "This is now hurting the party and whoever will be the nominee in the fall"?

CLINTON: No, I really can't. I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1719900,00.htm

Clinton campaign on ropes

BY JOHN GUERRIERO
Published: May 08. 2008 6:00AM
Murray, who has supported Bill and Hillary Clinton since 1991, said these are tough times for people like him who are in the Clinton camp but want to unify the party.

"The sense is, absent some catastrophic event that would take place in this campaign, it's going to be very difficult to see a path to victory for Hillary given what happened" Tuesday, Murray said.
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/NEWS02/805080437

Sun May 11, 2008
Analysis: Could Clinton land the VP nomination?

Several Clinton associates say there is still a ray of hope among some in her campaign: that a "catastrophic" revelation about Obama might make it possible for her to win the presidential nomination. But barring that, Hillary and Bill Clinton recognize that her candidacy is being abandoned and rejected by superdelegates whom she once expected to win over and that, even if she were to win the popular vote in combined primary states, she will almost certainly be denied the nomination.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/10/bernstein.clinton/index.html?section=cnn_latest

CBSNews.com Reports: N.Y. Senator Now Faces Nearly Impossible Odds To Capturing Democratic Nomination
May 7, 2008

Clinton's Path To Victory Slipping Away
There is one scenario which does work for Clinton and that’s a massive movement of superdelegates leaving Obama and supporting her. The party leaders could do that, but it would take some unforeseen development in the race between now and the convention for them to do so. Obama, in some way, would have to be rendered so unelectable that the party rejects him at the convention. That’s not much to hang a hat on but it’s starting to look like her best option.

And even that might not be a viable option, said Joe Trippi. “Even if the catastrophic thing existed or happened, if she were perceived to have caused it, I think it would end her campaign too,” Trippi said. I don’t think there’s any way now for her to gain the nomination. She’s at the point now where if she tries to make a case against Obama, it will actually speed up superdelegates joining his cause just to shut the campaign down.”

But Trippi notes that the Obama campaign and Democratic leaders are still likely to give Clinton the room she needs to go forward on her own terms, provided that she does so in a positive manner. “I think there’s lots of tolerance for her going on, running the table into the convention and having a presence there,” he said. “But if she actually tries to compete in the trenches for the nomination in a way that looks like it’s damaging the nominee … I don’t think there will be any tolerance for that at all.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/07/politics/main4078586.shtml