It's time to throw the kitchen sink. NOW.

[backscatter712]

Yeah. Hillary's strategy.

We need to be throwing every last molecule of shit we've got at McCain and Palin.

Stop paying even an ounce of respect to them. They've proved they don't deserve it.

Demonize them. Dehumanize them.

Stop with the obligatory respectful nods to McCain's service and time in the Hanoi Hilton and start calling him Wetstart and Songbird.

And the Wicket Bitch of the North already has so many scandals that a hundred million in ads over the remaining weeks of election season should utterly destroy her.

Why do we insist on being the nice guys? That gets our asses kicked by those bullying Rethug pieces of shit every time!

HURT THEM!!! NOW!!!

[dkf]

1. It should have been done from the minute they dropped Palin's name.

Now opinions are forming and we may be too late.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Talk to the DU Handwringing Brigade about that.

[Top Cat]

3. Any ideas?

[Abacus]

4. No, thanks.

Kitchen sink strategies smack of desperation and are likely to cement our unfavorables. I prefer the precision strikes that the Obama campaign has become accomplished with.

[totodeinhere]

29. The American people are tired of all of the negativity and if we try that it will backfire on us.

If going negative would help us win then I'd be all for it. But IMO staying on message and staying positive is the road to victory. Remember that Obama's main theme is change. If we resort to the same old gotcha politics of the past then we are negating Obama's message. So I disagree with the OP.

Edit - This was meant to be a reply to the OP.

[whybaltimore]

5. I hope you are right

Hope it works.

[butterfly77]

6. We have to save some for after Palin...

comes out of her hole or just in case they try to change McCains partner but, we can continue to pound McCain and all around him.

[justiceischeap]

7. As good as that would feel, I think the reaction to Palin vitriolic speech tells us

what the majority of American's felt about it. They thought it was distasteful. One of the great things about the Obama campaign and message is wanting to change the tenor of communication in Washington and the nation. He wants us to rise above these bullshit Rovian tactics and be the mature adults we can be.

Can that belief win an election? I don't know and we won't find out until November 4. I for one would much rather have candidates talking about how they're going to help the economy, end the war, get me healthcare coverage (which I don't have), end our dependence on foreign oil, and help the environment. While imPalin and McShame give their scathing stump speeches making fun of just about everyone, Obama and Biden are actually talking to the people and laying out their plan for the nation and I think that is a much more effective campaign tactic than poking people in the eye and then laughing. Dems are tired of that tactic and I think a lot of Independents and swing voters are too.

[WeDidIt]

8. Because DUers know better how to handle a national campaign

than a team that has been doing just fine for the past two years.

:eyes:

Give it a rest.

[slinkerwink]

17. The Obama people in charge of messaging are from Daschle and Gephardt.

[WeDidIt]

21. The Obama team took on and defeated the single best known brand in Democratic Politics

I'll take them over a bunch of handwringers on an internet message board.

[JimDandy]

28. Actually, no. They didn't defeat anything - Hillary's team defeated

her. If she'd had a better running start on our candidate...well who knows? Which is why DU must keep up the personal attacks. The Repugs DEFINED the race to THEIR constituents as being about personalities, so its imperative we STAY on the personal attacks, AS WELL AS conduct the issues attacks on which Obama's team is focusing. DU can handle a good two-pronged attack.

[americanstranger]

35. 'A better running start?' C'mon.

She had name recognition, she got spotted over 100 superdelegates, she was the odds-on choice of the media, the 'inevitable' one.

To get more of a head start, Obama would have had to drop out before the first primary.

Face facts. Obama beat Hillary. He out-maneuvered her, out-strategized her, out-organized her.

Claiming that he didn't win but hillary lost is really disingenuous.

- as

[JimDandy]

43. Sorry-bad word choice.

My point, albeit badly stated, was: there she was looking golden, right from the start, and then her team shoots themselves in the foot coming out of the starting gate, because of their infighting. So, I should have said: "If her team had been running her campaign better at the start...well who knows what might have happened."

IMHO, Obama's team gained an advantage by Hillary's stumbles and I believe those missteps helped him win. Whatever I think, though, I am counting on Obama KNOWING how he got there and using that to win in the general.

I am sure we both agree, though, that we're glad he did win.

[geek tragedy]

30. The Obama campaign lost their entire lead over the summer.

I'm not sure the dumbest person here could have managed that, given *'s approval ratings

[Danger Mouse]

36. Oh for the love of...

:puke:

[liberaldem4ever]

9. That's the way I feel too

I am so tired of Dems feeling like they have to be the nice guys. I want to throw the kitchen sink and the bathtub and the bathroom sink and any freaking other thing we can throw at those sorry lying RW pieces of shit.

[ikojo]

10. All of this good advice and only one rec?

C'mon people! Keep this one kicked.

Obama and Biden....JOHN MCSAME IS NOT AN HONORABLE MAN. So what he served, so did John Kerry. He was not shown ANY respect by the Republicans.

If people in the military are stupid enough to vote for McCain just because he wore the uniform, then they deserve the military they get.

[quiet.american]

11. In the end, though, what was the result of "Hillary's strategy." Just think for a moment. nt

[PBS Poll-435]

15. She won 2/3rds of the contests after Mississippi?

:shrug:

[quiet.american]

18. That's one. Now, what was the other one? nt

[PBS Poll-435]

20. I don't understand the question...

What is your point?

The strategy implemented by the campaign completely reversed the course.

It wasn't enough to win the nomination, but it was very effective on a state-by-state basis.

[quiet.american]

22. Who is our nominee -- Obama or Clinton?

That is the only result that counts.

[PBS Poll-435]

26. ...

Edited.

[Dawgs]

24. Hillary was running against the change canidate; she was the one that was status quo.

This is entirely different.

[quiet.american]

31. Can't agree it's entirely different; just more intense, if that's possible.

What would we think of Obama if all it took was ONE, nay, ONE manufactured speech from a trash talking baby mama to make him turn on a dime and abandon his almost two years of campaigning on a platform of civilized discourse and real change? He's just not that easy to scare.

If the take-no-prisoners rough-and-tumble of Chicago politics couldn't stop him, why should a ticket with a doddering fool and a fanatic airhead do it?

If the Hillary machine couldn't make him quake, what chance does the big mouth from Alaska have?

He's a terrific, strong candidate, and he has prevailed against some of the most powerful people in politics today. This time will be no different. As one poster put it, he's got this.

[Dawgs]

34. We're not asking him to turn on a dime, just attack where it will hurt.

Like run an ad defending community service work, or go after her for having ZERO experience.

The point is to define her. Are you wanting to keep this race close?

[quiet.american]

40. There are reasons why your approach could play right into the GOP's hands.

I don't feel like doing all the work of listing why here, but if you haven't read a copy of George Lakoff's "Don't Think of an Elephant," it's worth it to shed some light on where Obama seems to be coming from.

As for your last question... surely, you jest.

[paparush]

12. I agree 110%. This election is a WAR that we cannot fail to win.

Fuck McCain.
Fuck Palin.
Fuck her family.
Fuck McCain's grim reaper wife.

Anyone who sides with these lunatics does not deserve our respect or consideration.

[rzemanfl]

13. The undecided voters care about things like showing respect.

The people who sling shit for a living will take care of Palin. My biggest concern is election theft.

[AndyTiedye]

14. All The People Who Sling It For a Living Are Slinging It All At Us

[Dawgs]

25. Is that why all of those undecideds moved to McCain?

Not so great analysis.

[slinkerwink]

16. It's the Bitchslap Theory. If you let them slap you, and you don't fight back

immediately, then you're seen as weak.

[backscatter712]

23. Absolutely. The bitchslap theory has proven itself over and over and over again.

We have to strike back hard, and below the belt!

[Imagevision]

19. Obama could waltz this thing up right until 10 days before the GE then do the sink thing

[JimDandy]

39. I believe a hard hit just at the end could backfire, unless it was preceded by a constant stream

of personal attacks kept to at least a trickle. Hit her HARD now, slow it up, and then give her a KO punch with the worst of it, right before the election, when people are really paying attention.

[the Sundance Kid]

27. Hillary lost. Her's was a losing strategy.

Obama won. His is a winning strategy.
I'm sticking with the proven winner.

[greguganus]

32. If Hillary's was a losing strategy, why are so many people wanting her to come out and attack Palin?

If Hillary attacks Palin and it fails, all the attack supporters will jump down Hillary's throat. But I guess they figure she has nothing to lose, since she's not running for prez or vice prez.

[quiet.american]

38. There's not much "if" about it at this point, BUT, I will say this --

-- personally, I don't like the fact that this trash-talker Palin even dares to compare herself to Hillary Clinton. That's like being a dime-store velvet "painting" and comparing yourself to a genuine Rembrandt.

That's why I wouldn't mind seeing her take Palin to the watershed.

[BumRushDaShow]

33. Something to think about - the "Targeted Ads"

and the fact that there IS some bitch-slapping going on from Obama around the country because not all of the states are seeing the same advertising. It seems that much of the hand-wringing is over what is seen/heard from the propaganda TV bloviators but there is something else going on under their radar...

For example I live in PA, however not too long ago, I saw a post here that mentioned that Obama ran an ad in Ohio that specifically targeted OH voters regarding DHL. That ad did NOT run nationally nor did it run here in PA (and I expect nowhere else).

Here in PA, there are Obama ads that are playing in *specific* parts of the state that are not running here in Philly. And I know here in Philly, they are running "the McLame is against abortions" ad (which is supposedly running in up to 10 states).

So I think before we throw our hands up, the strategy seems to be along the lines of "Elections ARE 'local'", and maybe it is time to get a thread going on what ads people are seeing in their localities because IMHO, there is a false perception that "nothing" is being done when stuff is happening - but in a very "personal" way (to a certain demographic or area of the country). And having seen that OH DHL ad (I think it was posted at DU), it was pretty raw.

Don't embrace "ignorance is bliss" - share what you know is happening in your part of the country!

[Danger Mouse]

37. I don't agree. At all. But I'll hear you out. What do you suggest?

[populistdriven]

41. Kitchen Meet Sink

[OneAmerica]

42. The time to throw it is Nov 1st

Because by then, the Rethugs will have already dropped their "October Surprise" and won't have enough time to counter our 1-Up