Inspiring's fine, but Obama must master the daily grind

[Forkboy]

For months now, the race has been Barack Obama's to lose. He's had a number of opportunities to end this contest with just one win, and he hasn't been able to do it. Some of this has to do with Hillary Clinton's destructive "kitchen sink" campaign, which began in late February when she was in danger of being chased from the race, and which lately has placed her perilously close to positioning herself in almost rightwing populist terms the better to tag Obama an "elitist".

Some of it has to do with the aggressive vetting of Obama by the media on sometimes dubious questions. And, no doubt, some of it has to do with plain old racism, which has not, wouldn't you know it, disappeared from American life.

But some of it has to do with Obama himself, and his campaign. And if he does end up losing the nomination - I think there's about a 40% chance of it now, though I'm still in the minority among US commentators in thinking it's that high - some of the finger-pointing will have to be aimed at the mirror.

There's been a paradox at the heart of the Obama campaign, and it goes like this. He has been, for millions of voters, a great inspirational leader, with a unique talent for defining the historical moment; but at the same time, in many ways, he hasn't been a very good day-to-day campaigner. Campaigns must have Big Themes, sure. But at ground level they are largely about controlling the daily and weekly grind of issues. "Winning the headlines," it's sometimes called. The campaigns that win are generally those that pull this off.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/05/barackobama.hillaryclinton

[emilyg]

1. Good article.

[cliffordu]

2. Kinda stupid....

It was never his to win...How far up was Hill one year ago??

It always has been hers to lose...and she has done just that.

He has taken on the Billary machine, the MSM, the Repubs, (on a smaller scale, but still...)

and hasn't broken a sweat yet.

The OP is kind of creating a worst case scenario out of thin air.

Unless Billary can get the stupor delegates to overturn the will of the Democratic party, this is over.

And all the halfwit bloggers in the world won't change that.

[calmblueocean]

4. Boy, you pretty much took that article apart. Well done.

And it's all true.

I especially have to laugh at his idea that Obama should have introduced himself in Iowa by bringing up Jeremiah Wright.

The facts of this election are pretty simple: Hillary ran a lousy, lazy campaign until it was too late to make a difference; McCain was the basically the last choice Republicans could turn to to stop the religious right and Huckabee from getting the nomination; Obama came from nowhere to run a campaign well-positioned to beat both.

[cliffordu]

30. Why, Thanks....

I just love the fact that the Wright thing is the ONLY "dirt" they seem to be able to toss his way - and I'm thinking that it's starting to backfire...

People aren't nearly as stupid ALL the time as the media thinks they are....

[TahitiNut]

26. Yup. Folks are spinning themselves into a twist.

:shrug:

[cliffordu]

31. Did you see the HOUR long "specials" on Wright yesterday??

Someone out there REALLY wants people to see as much about Wright and as little about Obama's policies and stances as possible...

[TahitiNut]

32. Yup. It's the worst of tabloidism. The "angry black man" is going to sap our vital juices.

I still say that I'd be glad to have Wright in my neighborhood and I'd love to attend his church. The man is so far superior to the Fascists in the Cheney/Bush cabal it's not even close.

[cliffordu]

34. Yep, Yep, and Yep.

I'm glad you and I are sooooo damned smart....

:rofl:




:patriot:

[FrenchieCat]

3. I guess he just needs to kick Hillary ass up and down the block one good time

and that should do it.

Problem is that he can't. He's already been lynched....so I can only imagine what would happen if he did.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[SparkyMac]

15. I'm not totally convinced about that "whipped" part. n/t

[Awsi Dooger]

6. The tone of his stump speech really turns me off

It's laced with pompous facial expressions and theme. Always turning to his right and smugly mocking the current criticism of himself or his campaign. There hasn't been an effective addendum to his standard speech in at least a month. Meanwhile, I retain Bill Clinton tapes from '92. In similar periods, while on the defensive, he relied on devastating and evolving point by point breakdown of the national economic woes, and how they could be addressed. Bill Clinton clearly didn't take it personally, when he was being attacked, at least not in '92, and wouldn't allow it to impact his daily strategy. Meanwhile, Wright says Obama acted like a politician and Obama becomes incensed.

Obama seems like a decent guy in debate format and during interviews. Hardly JFK, but competent. The day to day speeches are what irk me, even though they are considered his strength. Every day I watch CSPAN, treated to Obama's smug and Michelle's sneer.

Tell me those traits play great in Ohio and I'll drop it.

[FrenchieCat]

7. You just don't like him for whatever your reasons.........

but that will always be the case in any election.

Hillary has more of those than Obama does, and you can certainly count me in as one of them.

[sandnsea]

9. lol, Hillary won one race in April

And suddenly Obama is the one who hasn't been able to win. What shit. The media is choosing to shove Hillary down our throats. If they had told the truth about the delegate numbers, this would have been over before Ohio & Texas, like it should have been.

[SparkyMac]

10. I'd like Obama better if he didn't come across as being so prissy

[AllentownJake]

11. LOL

I swear....people have some odd reasons for voting.

[SparkyMac]

14. Then you have noticed ?

I've seen elderly schoolmarms who displayed more masculine characteristics and were less prissy.

[AllentownJake]

16. I think

your prissy comment has the maturity of a 5 year old child.

[SparkyMac]

18. It's prissy when he wags that lanky finger at his audience n/t

[AllentownJake]

20. Like Bill clinton

and his fat stubby finger?

[SparkyMac]

23. No, No. I'll tell you what prissy is.

Prissy is wagging one skinny forefinger in the face of his audience while he keeps the other one stuck up he ass. And every ten minutes he swaps them around.

BTW, some people think "prissy" mean effeminate. It doesn't. It's short for "precise". Overly precise -- to be accurate.

[AllentownJake]

25. Well

If you base your support of a candidate on who is the least Prissy..I really have no need to engage you in any kind of further dialogue or read anything you write here. Welcome to the valued ignore list.

Reply to me if you want...I can't see you.

[SparkyMac]

29. Oh, shucks ! Sob, sob, sob. n/t

[goclark]

27. As in he tells the truth to the American people

I can see why that would bother you.

[Armstead]

19. I suppose he could belch for you...Would that win you over?

:eyes:

[QC]

28. And if he did walk up to the podium, belch, and then sit down,

DU would be filled with hundreds of posts from his admirers lauding him for such an inspiring and hopeful performance.

[TahitiNut]

24. OMG!! He might lose the "cracker vote"!! Horrors!

:eyes: The spirit of Lester Maddox seems to be alive and ill.

[AlinPA]

12. "the race has been Barack Obama's to lose" ! Clinton was the huge favorite.

[nvme]

13. Kitchen sink

The only thing that has detracted from Obama has been Wright. Nothing else stuck. It is also a nice little veiled racist theme. Meanwhile only 20k jobs were lost last month. oil still percolates well above 116USD per barrel. How many homes have been foreclosed? So long as the MSM seeks to perpetuate this storyline it will continue. Remember the longer the contests last the more ads the media-whores sell.

[Buzz Clik]

17. I never understand this logic: Obama has been maintaining a lead for a couple of months...

... and Hillary cannot even put a tiny dent in that lead. So, naturally, Obama sucks and is flawed and Hillary should be declared the winner. Huh?

Tell our friends in the UK that this race will be over on May 20. On that date, Obama's lead will be insurmountable. On May 21, they can start asking why Hillary refuses to step aside.

[KoKo]

21. hmm....Thomasky does a thinly veiled propaganda piece about Obama should have Ditched Wright

before the Media gut a hold of the issue. That's pretty much what this opinion piece is about. More stuff to show "weakness of Obama" for not pre-empting. I wonder why McCain didn't denounce the crazy RW Preacher who endorsed him...before he endorsed him... But, then, McCain is not criticized...only the Dem Party for not "getting their act together" and allowing it all to go to convention...which Thomasky thinks won't give enough time for American Voters to see how terrible a candidate McCain is. veiled

[zulchzulu]

22. "For months now, the race has been Barack Obama's to lose."

So that's what it is now? I thought, based on a year and a half of polls and "analysis" before the first votes were cast that it was Hillary Clinton's race to lose.

Obama has been kicking butt and IS the nominee unless we have some serious event that steals away the eventuality. Obama has broken records beyond all expectations and has had millions of new voters sign on to the campaign. Granted, the lazy mainstream media had to fill in a 42-day hole between the Mississippi and Pennsylvania primary. ABC took the lead to try to imply that someone's former pastor should be an issue in the Presidential race...all while ignoring how Hillary Clinton's ties to the neocon Fellowship and McCain's ties to Hagee and Parsley could easily be an issue as well.

Obama has survived bullets from the dubious Clinton Machine, the lazy mainstream media, the panicking Republicans and those too lazy to want to discuss the issues we need to be talking about.

Obama IS the nominee. Get used to it. He is also going to make a fantastic President in 2009.

[sfam]

33. Wait, you mean the one where Hill folks come out with insane daily talking points?

Is this the "managing the daily grind" the blogger is referring to? Personally, I'm sorta glad Barack does NOT engage in that level of insanity. This does not lead to a good campaign, and serves to diminish the candidate overall. Hillary's reduced stature is a testament to her continued attempts to try on new images to meet the daily grind.

If its me, I prefer the same message from month to month. A "new Obama every week" does not appeal to me.

And um, the 40% chance of losing is based on what, exactly?