"Obama’s the Frontrunner, and Backers Need to Get Used to the Attacks"

[Pirate Smile]

Obama’s the Frontrunner, and Backers Need to Get Used to the Attacks



In an earlier post, I outlined why the Clinton campaign’s obsessive attempt to fight 1988 all over again with a silly - I called it shrieking - “plagiarism” accusation is stupid and will backfire.

Think of it as another Wile E. Coyote caper attempting to bring down the Road Runner.

Now I’d like to address some equally “tough love” to some Obama supporters, who - as can be seen on the comments section here and elsewhere - fell reflexively into the same combination of panicked-and-yet-catatonic state we’re seeing from the high echelons of the Clinton organization.

All day long we’ve heard the worrywart faction among online Obama supporters expressing much teeth gnashing that somehow this dust-up is going to affect the vote in Wisconsin tomorrow or derail the Obama candidacy (they must have missed the coach’s halftime pep talk here last night when we quoted the immortal words of Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi: “Confidence is contagious, and so is lack of confidence”).

The fact is, even if Clinton wins Wisconsin tomorrow (and I’ll explain before the night is out - once I’ve finished the Congressional District previews - why The Field predicts an Obama win there), not even a Wisconsin loss would derail the Obama campaign, as the latest numbers out of Texas - showing a virtual tie where there was supposed to be a “Clinton firewall” - suggest.

Remember that Obama’s biggest fundraising night of the campaign was the night he lost the New Hampshire primary: a Wisconsin defeat - even though, again, I don’t think it likely - would probably just have the effect of rallying his supporters into giving more money, working harder, and creating an even bigger wave heading into the March 4 primaries. Ability to suffer setbacks gracefully is what separates the winners from the losers. And it’s a large part of what has happened so far in the Democratic nomination fight.

As a smart commentator here pointed out, the evidence is already in: the national TV news programs tonight basically reported the dust-up in a way that made the Clinton campaign look as silly as it deserved to look, throwing petty stones from a glass house. Here’s Mark Halperin’s summary:

ABC: Bush 41 endorsement of McCain led the program. McCain said to be closer with 41 than with George W. Bush; how close to appear with the unpopular 43 is cast as a tricky question. Then on to “plagiarism” charge against Obama—showed videos of Obama’s “just words” remarks, followed by Gov. Patrick’s speech two years earlier. Also showed Clinton borrowing Obama’s “fired up” line. More video showed Clinton likening immigration enforcement to tracking movies from Blockbuster– then showed Edwards making the same point five months earlier.

CBS: Wisconsin Democratic race was the second story. Polls show the race will be tight, and Clinton is staying longer than expected to campaign. Then to “war of words”—showing tape of Obama followed by Patrick. Also showed tape of Clinton copying Obama’s “fired up” line. Brief mention of Bush 41’s endorsement of McCain

NBC: Led with Clinton-Obama’s “war over words,” showing section of Obama’s speech, then similar portion of a Deval Patrick speech. Said it was Clinton’s “where’s the beef” moment, but also highlighted Obama brushing it off, Clinton doing same thing with husband’s line at Coretta Scott King’s funeral. Then, covered Bush 41’s McCain endorsement, including his gentle message to Huckabee. Looked into Bush 43’s role in McCain campaign, with President saying in interview “I will help him in any way I can.”

So, if there are any Chicken Littles among the Obama supporters - yes, I’m not speaking about all or even most of you - out there running around and typing “the sky is falling,” they need to get some perspective. Today’s little skirmish is nothing - it won’t even be remembered weeks from now - compared to what will come as there are fewer straws for the Clinton campaign to grasp onto and the clock starts running out on the game.

But when you take the bait, and react reflexively to little spitballs, you end up emboldening the spitball shooter to act even more stupidly and negatively tomorrow and the next day. Those that get ahead in politics learn to spin off from those kinds of antics and attacks and stay on message. The Obama campaign did that today in textbook form.

Yes, panic loves company, but everything I’ve seen so far in this contest shows that even when some of their supporters are freaking out, the leadership over there - including the candidate - has stayed cool, calm and collected, and they haven’t yet been thrown off their game plan.

After all, the news story today wasn’t about anything of substance or importance that Clinton said or did today, was it? Nothing Senator Clinton said or did today rose above the din, there was no emote or connecting moment, no memorable words from the candidate, no sense of momentum or history, just a shrill attack that boomeranged. They eclipsed their own sun with this one.

Look, listen and learn from today. Pay attention to how the dance steps play out. Because if past is prologue, tomorrow they’ll try something even nastier and dumber.

All it means when your adversaries get all crazy on you is that your candidate is winning.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Beep beep!

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=655

[ginnyinWI]

1. loved this--it's exactly how I feel!

I also noticed how Obama's reaction was very cool:

"Those that get ahead in politics learn to spin off from those kinds of antics and attacks and stay on message. The Obama campaign did that today in textbook form."

I'm going to remember the Roadrunner/Coyote analogy--it really fits! They do keep blowing themselves up, don't they? :)