In watching the DNC Convention over the past two days, I've been cringing at the poorly articulated attacks against John McCain from some of the speakers, with Schweitzer, Kucinich, Casey, and Clinton as the exemptions to the norm. So far they've been hitting him on the houses bit, and the drilling for oil bit, and not knowing much about the economy.
What about the real sore points for John McCain that hurts him the most? It's his flip-flop on torture, the flip-flop on abortion, the flip-flop on tax cuts for the wealthy, the flip-flop on the environment, the flip-flop on campaign reform.
I’ve been wondering as to the lack of a response ad to the Ayers ad, which has been running in battleground states all week. Does the Obama team think that their focus on the DNC coverage trumps any sort of response to the Ayers ad? Are they back in the position where they were in thinking that a response to the “Celebrity” ads would be silly?
One House. One Spouse. Obama-Biden 08! That IS the winning ticket, showcasing the great Democratic values of these strong family men. They love their families, would do anything for them, and that's what they'll do for America's hardworking families!
Last night, I read this very disturbing post on DU about the disturbing effects of the sleep drug Ambien on elderly patients. What I read made me frightened. We are so fucked if John McCain, the Ambien candidate, becomes President. This use of the drug Ambien makes him mentally unfit to lead.
In a very defensive response to the fusillade of attacks from Barack Obama's campaign with their "McCain McMansions" ad, the surrogate attacks, and the press releases, the McCain campaign had this as their response. Let's all guess what it is below.
I read this paragraph today, with a quote from Bill Burton, the Obama spokesman, to Fox News:
"The convention will offer a series of contrasts and comparisions of the McCain record so voters can see how clearly the choice will be in November," Obama spokesman Bill Burton told FOX News. "The convention will also introduce Senator Obama to the country, but it will make sure to convey strongly the differences and choices Obama’s campaign presents over McCain’s."
August 29th was also the day that Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, while John McCain and George W. Bush was laughing it up on the airport tarmac with a huge birthday cake in front of them.
CQPolitics came out with an article today about how the House Republicans don't really want the Democrats to directly answer the energy crisis by immediately bringing a bill to the House floor. Instead those damn Republicans want us to do it through the normal committee process so they can delay the process until the November election:
I've been annoyed lately by the ostriches who continue to insist that the Obama team knows what they're going to do, that people aren't paying attention until after the conventions, and that Obama will do the rope-and-dope strategy.
They're mistaken on these three points. From what I'm seeing, especially in tonight's faith forum, that Obama has a lot of work to do in connecting to voters emotionally. While he gave very good, thoughtful answers to the questions that were asked, he meandered in his answers, gave some nuance, and in doing so, sounded like he was hedging.
Yesterday, I posted this idea on Strategy08 about Obama reserving a huge chunk of ad time during the Republican National Convention to air his ads to conservative and independent viewers tuning in to watch the RNC.
How about this for an idea? I’m not that quite well-versed on ad buys, but I remember that Obama bought up a huge chunk of ad time for the Olympics. Why not the same for the Republican National Convention? I think that would present an excellent opportunity to run ads defining John McCain, and outlining Obama’s own policies for middle class families for the voters in Michigan. Also, I would strongly suggest that Obama reserve a HUGE amount of the ad time for the Democratic National Convention in order to prevent McCain from getting in some ad time.
Senator Barack Obama just released a new ad called the "Three Bedroom Ranch" for the Olympics, on top of his "Hands" ad that is already playing on a nationwide buy on NBC. Here's the ad below:
I was reading Halperin's roundup of the evening news shows, when this tidbit caught my eye. You ever know how when you read something, you have the sense it's going to be a major story that's going to come up after bubbling under the surface for a while? This tidbit was it.
The McCain campaign just released this web ad, attacking the enthusiasm of Obama supporters for their candidate. It also includes a racial aspect with the two white women, which the Obama campaign should not focus on, but rather on how McCain is making fun of the fact that ordinary Americans are engaged in the political process more than ever before.
McCain on Thursday was to discuss DHL's plans with local officials and others affected by the potential job losses. The economy and job losses are important issues in Ohio, a critical swing state that gave President Bush the electoral votes needed for re-election in 2004.
McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said Wednesday that Davis had not worked with DHL since 2005, long before DHL announced plans to move its work out of Wilmington. The companies merged in 2003.
"At the time of the merger, no one anticipated an impact on jobs in Wilmington," Rogers said.
McCain, as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, had a role in the deal too. He urged then-Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens to abandon proposed legislation that would have prohibited foreign-owned carriers from flying U.S. military equipment or troops, which Airborne Express said was aimed at torpedoing its merger with DHL.
Ok, let's see what's the matter with the lede, and the headline as posted in the Time Magazine. I'd like to thank Dansac at Strategy08 for pointing this out. I have my glasses on so I'll take a gander at this paragraph below:
Right now, the Washington Post report about Barack Obama is now being slammed by House Democrats as being taken wholly out of context. The Washington Post story reads like this:
Obama's Symbolic Importance
By Jonathan Weisman
Perhaps he's beginning to believe the hype.
In his closed door meeting with House Democrats this evening, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered a real zinger. According to a witness, he was waxing lyrical about last week's trip to Europe, when he concluded, "this is the moment, as Nancy [Pelosi] noted, that the world is waiting for."
The 200,000 souls who thronged to his speech in Berlin came not just for him, he told the enthralled audience of congressional representatives.
"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions," he said.
The Republicans are happily jumping upon this quote to push the "uppity black man" line that they've been trying to get circulated in the press as a meme.
