Bob Herbert: For the Next 10 Weeks, Obama Should Hammer McCain on the Economy

[babylonsister]

http://www.alternet.org/election08/96143/for_the_next_10_weeks%2C_obama_should_hammer_mccain_on_the_economy/

For the Next 10 Weeks, Obama Should Hammer McCain on the Economy

By Bob Herbert, The New York Times. Posted August 23, 2008.

A populist message and a willingness to take the fight to his opponent is Barack Obama's ticket to the White House.

snip//

Mr. Obama likes to say he's skinny but tough. But with all due respect, he hasn't yet demonstrated the degree of toughness needed to prevail in a presidential campaign. There is nothing genteel about these contests.

From Watergate to the Swift Boat madness, we've seen how the struggle for the ultimate power of the presidency can degenerate to the rankest kind of ruthlessness and ugliness, usually at the expense of the Democrat.

Joe Biden is a good model to follow here. A few months ago, after being asked on MSNBC about attacks on Senator Obama that were being unleashed by Senators McCain and Joe Lieberman, Mr. Biden said:

"I refuse to sit back like we did in 2000 and 2004. This administration is the worst administration in American foreign policy in modern history -- maybe ever. ... Every single thing they've touched has been a near-disaster."

A populist message and a willingness to take the fight to his opponent is Barack Obama's ticket to the White House.

He's got 10 weeks to show if he's got the right stuff

[maseman]

1. Nail hit the head of the hammer

Spot on.

[still_one]

2. It already started after his VP announcement, and I have no doubt

this will be the main theme

[Motown_Johnny]

3. Agreed, It's the economy McStupid! I think this is a win win for us as far as the repug VP pick goes

McGaffe has said any number of idiotic things about the strength of our economy and the fact that he does not know a lot about economic matters.


This means that he needs to pick someone with economic credentials as a VP. But.... in GOP circles, economic credentials means that you have made lots and lots of money in the private sector (like Romney). This brings the talking points back to McMansion having more houses than he can count and then we need to talk about how rich the VP is too (Romney has 5 houses)


So, if he picks a rich guy for economic credentials we hit them as elitists who do not understand kitchen table issues and if he doesn't pick a rich guy we hit him as a rich guy who does not understand anything economic, especially kitchen table issues.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Bingo! That's what will connect - it's the hot button issue right now.

[Vinca]

5. Exactly. We still don't have an accurate count of homes.

I wonder how many cars go with the homes? Someone needs to ask him how many cars he owns. Do they drive themselves or is a chauffeur or two or three included in the $270,000+ in hired help? Obama and Biden need to pound it into the average idiot's head that McBush is not like them. The idiot's who actually think the "death tax" applies to them and that's why they always vote Republican.

[Motown_Johnny]

6. I was thinking more like.. How many Picasso Originals do you own? Or private jets

although I am pretty sure there is just one jet.


I would not ask about cars, most people own a car and some collect cars. You may as well attack Jay Leno for collecting antique cars.


I would focus on things that most people can't even consider ever owning.

[Raven]

7. Here's how it's going to work in New Hampshire:

I table every weekend and talk to a lot of people. This is my take: there is a great deal of support up here for McCain right now. After Labor Day, when the kids are back in school and the checks have been written for their clothes and their books and their tuition, folks are going to feel the early chill of Fall in the air, sit down at their kitchen tables and try to figure out how to pay their heating bills. Most folks probably got their last fill before the summer began and the next fill will be a shock. This is going to happen sometime around mid September and, at that point, the economy will take center stage. Obama/Biden better be on it.

People in this State will vote their pocketbooks, no question about it.

[JerseygirlCT]

8. He's right. Absolutely. Bottom line, it's still about the economy

Where politics hits people in their real lives - that's where they'll vote.