Obama going really negative would be political suicide...

[Skwmom]

and isn't required to win the nomination. The Clintons and Republicans would like nothing better than Obama and Clinton to engage in a knock down, dirty fight. Clinton knows this will poison the well and help the Republicans defeat Obama in November (then she can run in 2012) and will put pressure on Obama to put her on the ticket.

Obama can win by focusing on the fact that the atmosphere in DC is so poisoned and bitter that only big money special interests benefit. It's not poor Hillary's fault, but that's how it is.

Big money special interests will do everything they can to ensure that the American people remain bitterly divided. Bitter partisanship puts the big money special interests in charge b/c

1. many people get discouraged and tune out (leaving politicians unaccountable). Politicians and their big money special interests don't want the American public to see what is going on in DC.

2. many others engage in bitter fighting, supporting whatever their candidate does, and refusing to believe that their party can do any wrong. It also makes them focus on the party LABEL vs the person.

About Clinton being a fighter. FIGHTING is exactly what the big special interests want. The stupid, bitter, knockdown, dirty fighting that the Clintons and Bush represent just feeds the partisan divide and lets both the Republicans and the Democrats do the business of the special interests (and not the American people). On edit: We've been fighting for YEARS and nothing has gotten done, in fact we are digging a deeper hole.

Get away from the policy wonk debate. ADVISERS are the ones who put together the detailed plans. Different advisers will have different opinions but it is up to the President to use good JUDGMENT to decide which path they want to pursue. The number of GOOD PLANS that have been rolled out during campaigns, only to end up into the graveyard of plans in Washington, DC if lined up in a straight row, would probably go on for miles.

Only by getting past the bitter partisanship will we be able to rally AMERICANS to push their elected officials to do the right thing by the American Public. Nobody is saying and that the big money special interests will go quietly into the night, BUT the fighting should be American Citizens united against these special interests and against elected officials who have sold out to these special interests.

By pushing this theme, Obama can win without poisoning the well and can also be in the position to pick a VP which will reinforce this theme.

[NC_Nurse]

1. I agree. I don't want him to sink to her level.

I think his best chance is to keep his integrity. If people really want the kind of
dirty politics and fear-mongering she's stooped to, they can have it.

[bdamomma]

4. Obama is just too good, to stoop so low.

now Hillary against McCain, we think she is nasty now, can you imagine how she will be with McCain, it would get very nasty. Just speculating on my part.

[Wayjose]

17. He has no choice

He has to throw the kitchen sink and bathtub and crush Hillary. His supporters want him to fight back and bloody Hillary and she now knows it. It will be a bloodbath in PA unless the party elders stop the fratricide.

[Bucky]

2. What about just *slightly* negative?

I think he needs to hit the IRW issue harder and I think he could and has every right to hit the tax returns issue harder.

[Skwmom]

5. The voters need to demand the 2006 tax return be disclosed.

[Tarc]

15. Do you honestly think that that resonates with the average voters?

Tax return releases? C'mon, you're going to have to come up with something a lot more substantive than that.

[tabasco]

37. Goddamn right it resonates.

You think Democrats want to have a major embarrassment for a candidate in the GE?

Would you like to hear "Slick Hilly" all the way to the election if there is some sticky info in those tax returns?

WHY does Hillary refuse to make this information available to Democrats in the primaries?

The only reason her tax info has not been a big issue is because Obama has not attacked Clinton. Obama has focused on McCain but it is time for him to turn his sights on H. Clinton.

[Brundle_Fly]

40. that aint negative...

thats just using facts...

its the lack of facts or reporting on hearsay or innuendo that equates to negative.

He can have a field day.

[apnu]

3. I agree, kick and nom this (nt)

[bigtree]

6. I think he'd just open himself up to an elevation of the controversies which surround him

by drawing more attention to them than they might merit.

Also, I don't think he has as much grace from the public for attacking. Clinton is expected to be aggressive, but Obama's supporters might be taken aback if he practices what they've already identified as "politics as usual"

[TheZug]

7. He can't just stand there and be swiftboated like Kerry.

He doesn't have to lower himself to Hillary's level. But he MUST take her on and refuse to let her get away with this stuff. He MUST be forceful in countering.

If he just stands there and takes it, then honestly, he will prove her people right.

Time now to see what he has in him.

[Skwmom]

9. Replying to attacks is not the same as going negative.

He should explain WHY he doesn't want to get down into the gutter and do nothing but negative attacks.

1. It will damage the Democratic Party.
2. It will damage this country by continuing the politics of destruction which is destroying this country.

The more she negatively attacks, the more she reminds people of the kind of politics they DO NOT want. The more he stays above the fray, the more he will be able to deflect her attacks as petty politics as usual.

[TheZug]

24. Ask Sen. Kerry how staying "above the fray" worked out for him.

[Armstead]

8. If he does get as nasty as Hillary the media will tar him as "angry"

Despite the Clintons whining about the media, they successfully helped Hillary to knock Edwards out of the race by branding him as the "angry" candidate.

Meanwhile, when Hillary gets shrill and drags out the mudbucket and fear card, she is labeled as "a fighter."

This will be a real test for Obama, to see if he can fight back without the Political and media Elites calling him "angry."

And worse yet, I hate to say it, he will also be subconsciously labeled the "angry black man" if he descends to Hillary's level.

[Skwmom]

10. And she will play the victim with the help of the so-called anti-Clinton

media (yeah right).

He can defeat Clinton by hammering home the message that she can not deliver on her promises because she is a polarizing figure (but do not use the word polarizing, put it in much more straight forward terms - it's a bad a term as political expediency - it leaves many Americans wondering what the heck that is).

[canadian_is_cold]

11. I agree, he can't go negative. That would be politics as usual...

But how do you fight the scandal Queen, without going a little negative? It is tough situation.

[Emit]

12. Obama yesterday "I don't want to change the tone of our campaign because that's how ..."

"I don't want to change the tone of our campaign because that's how I ultimately think we're going to able to govern"

'We do things differently' 3:13
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama says he wants to stay focused on the issues.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?iref=videoglobal

[Beausoir]

13. He went "really negative" when he hired a gay-bashing clown to pander for votes.

He went "really negative" when he swiftboated Bill Clinton on race in SC.

[Skwmom]

21. If you really believe that, you are a prime example of what

has happened to political discourse in this country and why our problems are snowballing. All the energy and fight is wasted on defending the indefensible actions of a person just because they have a D (or R) in front of their name.

[Warren Stupidity]

22. No that was not 'going negative'.

While I despise that stunt, that is not 'negative campaigning'. Negative campaigning is throwing turdballs at your opponent. Obama reaching out to the homophobic evangelist fundaloon voter is odious, but it was not negative campaigning.

[Beausoir]

27. Wow. That was quite a contortion.

[Warren Stupidity]

30. I'm sorry if you choose to publicly display ignorance.

Words have meaning. Negative campaigns are campaigns that attack their opponents. Obama is not running against the GBLT community as the GLBT community is not a candidate. Obama's inclusion of that ass-wart homophobe was not negative campaigning as that term is commonly understood.

[Bake]

38. No, it was PANDERING to the evangelicals in South Carolina.

It was pandering, pure and simple. Obama threw the GLBT Dems under the bus to pander to the fundies.

And you thought BHO was above that sort of thing, new kind of politics and all ... turns out it's the same old same old, wrapped in better (empty) rhetoric.

Bake

[Warren Stupidity]

44. Yes - exactly my point.

And IMHO a major negative against Obama. Of course DOMA is part of Clinton's vast experience advantage over Obama - so this area is pretty much a wash. Only the 'lesser' Democratic candidates were willing to state publicly and unequivocally that homosexuals are actually human beings with the same rights as non-homosexuals.

[ctaylors6]

14. That's very tricky for him. His image is hope & change & rising above. Negative is 180 contrast.

[blm]

16. He only needs to tell the truth about the evil of Closed Government and what it has done

over the last few decades to this country.

Clintons AND Bushes protect Closed Government which has done NOTHING FOR this nation, and has only HURT IT in deadly ways - deadly for its citizens and deadly for democracy.

[psychopomp]

28. I believe that this is his strongest issue as well

He needs to make the case for a new vision of government based on the open-government principles that he has already endorsed but not explicitly laid out for the public.

In other words, at this stage of the campaign his campaign would benefit greatly by explaining how this vision of open government has the potential to weed out corruption and make citizens much more an informed part of the process of what takes place in their government.

[blm]

29. Thanks - It would kill two birds with one stone, too. I posted a thread about this

and your input would be appreciated.

[psychopomp]

34. Please post a link to the thread

I am not able to locate it.

[redqueen]

18. Agreed, and I don't think he will.

Everything seems to be going according to expectations from what I can tell. Let Hillary keep talking about winning the war in Iraq, and let Obama keep doing what he's doing.

[Skwmom]

19. Clarification: The American Public needs to unite to fight the special

interests and push our elected officials to tackle the problems facing this country (which have grown from molehills into mountains).

Uniting the Democrats is not enough.
Uniting the Republicans is not enough.
If we can't unite the Democratic party, and independents and yes (some Republicans) NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING will get done for the American people - only for the big money special interests.

[Warren Stupidity]

20. Staying positive means being on 24/7 defense.

Sorry - but that has rarely worked not in sports or in politics. At best Obama would 'run out the clock' leaving Clinton with the momentum of victory but short on points.

Clinton has left Obama little alternative but to either go negative or work out a joint ticket deal.

[Skwmom]

25. I disagree. You can still forcefully push back at attacks, and you can

totally disarm all of Clinton's ready from day one /experience argument by pointing out that she is too divisive. NOTHING will get done for the American Public, only the special interests.

By going this route it will also help Barack keep Clinton off the ticket.

[Warren Stupidity]

31. And you end up on 24/7 defense.

The attacks will continue to erode his support and make him look weak. He has to go on the offense simply to force the Clinton campaign to also have to play defense.

You can only play rope-a-dope for so long before you end up on the canvas.

[Skwmom]

32. Playing their stupid attack games makes him look weak.

We have SERIOUS issues facing this country and the Clintons want to engage in petty politics for their own benefit.

[qanda]

26. You are exactly right

There's a difference between being hopeful and being a carpet. Right now team Hillary is walking all over Obama and it doesn't feel good, as a supporter, to see him getting beat up by a girl. He doesn't have to hit her, but he should at least grab Hillary's hands and stop her from beating on him unabated.

[meow mix]

23. hillary failed to take the lead last night so shes eliminated

im not worried

[marions ghost]

33. Absolutely

ditto and thank you for saying it so well.

:applause::applause: :applause:

[AZBlue]

35. True - but he does need to put the truth out there a little bit louder.

She's lying and his responses need to garner a little more attention - or else Joe Average American only hears her side and doesn't know she's lying.

[Cha]

36. How about just getting the

facts out about hilary? Would that be "suicide"?

[maddiejoan]

39. Going negative has worked for him so far.

He's run a stealth negative campaign from day #1 of his campaign.

Far more negative than Hillary's.

[anonymous171]

41. Again, false.

[workinclasszero]

42. Obama better fight back hard or he's finished!

Hey I wish it wasn't so. Obama is an honorable man who want to run on the issues alone, but...

Hillary's Rovian/swiftboat campaign has hurt him. If you fail to hit back a certain amount of people think the lies must be true.

Obama needs to go full on assault mode against Dirty Hillary or she will drown him in the mud.

[cascadiance]

43. He needs quick, concise and home run responses...

If he can find quick one liners to basically put her back in the corner and isolate her as being opportunistically obsessed with personal attacks the way she has been, and then moves on quickly to bigger issues HE wants to deal with and makes strong statements (ala John Edwards type strong statements), that will be what America wants to hear from a decisive leader. She can talk about "experience" all she wants, but he will have demonstrated at the spur of the moment to have the judgement equal to her "lifetime of experience" judgement in doing so.

[Skwmom]

45. CLARIFICATION: Speaking the truth and asking for tax returns so that

voters can see if the Clintons have been vetted, asking exactly what that 35 years of experience is, asking about the Canada contact, etc., QUESTIONS THAT THE SO-CALLED ANTI-CLINTON MEDIA have REFUSED TO ASK, in my book is NOT NEGATIVE. Like the Clinton camp said, it's better that the voters know now than in the general election.

Challenging Clinton about her "I'm the best suited to be commander-in-chief" when she is the one that opened that can of worms - that is not negative.