according to my republican/independent friends: what obama needs to do to "seal the deal":

[unblock]

ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK!!!!!!

what i'm hearing from most of the people i know aside from the fairly partisan ones is that the one concern they have about obama is that he might be "too wimpy" the way they perceived kerry, gore, dukakis, carter, and other democratic candidates from the past.

interestingly, they also confirm a basic propaganda thought, which is that NONE of them are asking to see him "defend" himself against any of the right-wing attacks. my friends may not know the propaganda principle that defending yourself against an attack (especially a false attack) usually merely repeats and gives more exposure to the attack you're trying to fight in the first place. they know instinctively that it's better to leave the attacks be and go on the offensive yourself.

when boxing, if the other guy punches, the crowd does not scream for you to block the punches, they scream for you to HIT BACK HARD!


so far i think the campaign has done a FAR better job than usual for democratic campaigns in terms of getting the surrogates on message and attacking the republican candidate. this obviously needs to continue.

to "seal the deal", people need to see that obama himself has the fight in him. he has done this a bit, and appropriately, with a smile and a twinkle in his eye (he can NOT EVER get angry. that rarely works for presidential candidates and it certainly won't work for obama.)

hopefully, his team is already working on a few good debate zingers. if he can come off as feisty but not prickly, tough but not obnoxious, and spirited but not reckless, then he can win over a LOT of the remaining swing voters.



i have always been worried that the subconscious racist would be out looking for reasons to vote against obama.

i think that's true, but i'm finding that there are also a lot of people out there who have never voted for a democrat for president who are looking for reasons to vote FOR him.

if obama can win them over, he'll really have a lock on this election, and he'll bring a very nice congress in with him.

[thunder rising]

1. This is a marathon not a sprint. I don't think Obama should completely change his campaign

strategies now that he is totally in control of the race.

If "your friend" needs the dysfunctional satisfaction of dirty politics, go visit Faux sNoooz anytime.

[unblock]

7. what an obnoxious post!

why put "your friend" in quotes?

and since when is ANY attack "dysfunctional" and "dirty" politics? i never even implied lying or any other form of dirty tricks.

must democrats, in your view, fight with both hands tied behind their backs? apparently, you seem to think that to point out the other guys weaknesses, you necessarily must be a republican. i don't think so. democrats can and should point out what's wrong with mccain and the republicans.

[justiceischeap]

2. The problem with Dems (not us but politicians)

Is that in recent years they seem to have forgotten that if you want to win a fight, you go on the offensive. Being on the defensive does nothing but push you back a step.

I'm not saying they need to play dirty like the GOP but it doesn't hurt to bring the fight to them. For example, the thread with the video of McPOW saying American's can't pick lettuce, even for $50/hr, should be scooped up by the Obama camp and then put out to the MSM. That's being on the offensive, that makes McPOW have to explain his comments and takes his campaign "off message." It's also a comment that the American voters should hear.

I'm sure there are other examples but I'm not familiar enough with McPOW's career or issues to point more out.

[1corona4u]

4. I posted the following, in another thread...

My issue with dem's is this;

they are so afraid of speaking up, and looking like they are mean. WTF? The other side does it all the time, and they WIN!! HELLO DEMS?? I hate it that they act like soft-shell clams all of the time. What's to fear?? Hell, they might even drag a few million more people in if they give the other side hell. People want that now. Walking around on eggshells is probably the BIGGEST reason people think Dems are spineless, and can't protect this country. I realize that Obama doesn't want to get down in the dirt with the R's, but the time has come to CHANGE the way Democrats deal with the rightwing shitbags.

GROW SOME BALLS PEOPLE!!

[justiceischeap]

6. I don't think you have to be mean to be effective

You just have to take the fight to them instead of waiting for them to bring the fight. It can be done in an intelligent way without having to stoop to the GOP's tactics. It's not about having balls, it's about being smart. What the Dem's need is an offensive line football coach who is great with strategy.

[Egnever]

3. patience grasshopper

tonight will be grand. Your republican friends wont be disappointed.

Obama is one of those guys that calls you an ass to your face and you hear I really like you, then later in the day you realize you got your throat cut.

[OwnedByFerrets]

5. To me, playing dirty means lying about facts....

not brings the true facts to light and accentuating them. Its what WE as dems need to do more of. McSame has more than enough dirty laundry that we dont have to resort to lies or rovian tactics. We should use that laundry.

[unblock]

8. i agree, i never implied anything "dirty" or "lying".

to paraphrase truman, if they keep lying about democrats, we'll keep telling the truth about republicans.

not that i'm above a bit of slime as long as they started it. but in any event, that sort of thing has to be quite distanced from the obama campaign and isn't what i'm talking about in the o.p..