Is it just me or does the Obama camp seem to be letting McCain bring the fight then not respond

[MidwestTransplant]

All I hear on Cable news is McCain attacks Obama for this, that, etc. Obama camp responds "we are disappointed." What kind of response is that?

Then the new McCain ad which says Obama's subcommittee didn't hold hearings on Afghanistan (despite that Biden required them held at committee level) and then the Obama didn't fund the troops BS. Well McCain voted against funding too where there was a timetable attached and McCain didn't even attend his own committee hearings on Iraq and he is the ranking member. Why not run the same ad in reverse?

Kerry let the Rove et al have the summer, I hope Obama won't do the same. I like to think they know what they are doing, but letting McCain define him is a bad idea IMO.

[cbc5g]

1. I hope they are saving up their attacks ... i don't like the current media spin that favors mccain

[Bonn1997]

8. Bad plan

First impressions are incredibly hard to change. (I'm a psych prof who teaches this material.) It's not too late but Obama's been blowing major opportunities to define his opponent in negative terms. I'm actually hoping now that Obama will pick Hillary as his running mate--not because I like Hillary or think she deserves it but only because I trust her and Bill to do the dirty work that Obama doesn't realize is necessary. If you're not willing to attack your critics when necessary, then even if you do win the election, you're gonna have a really tough time managing the media and the critics during your presidency.

[cbc5g]

16. True but most people don't pay close attention until late in the game

[Bonn1997]

20. Then you need to

*constantly* be working on two separate, crucial tasks: conveying your positive message and negatively defining your opponent. The Obama camp is ignoring the second task although they are doing well well on the first task.

There are many examples but I'll give one: I recently saw a poll where 72% of Americans thought McCain and 48% thought Obama would be a great commander in chief. So a Dem strategist (I forget who) said something like "we believe with time, we'll show that Obama can pass the 'commander in chief' threshold." It makes it sound like the Dems feel that it's fine McCain has this great commander in chief record so long as Obama can break this so called threshold and maybe get his number of to 60% (or whatever for himself). But that's at best half the story. The Dems also need to tear apart the fictional image of McCain as a great commander in chief. They need Americans to fear a McCain commander in chief because he's a war mongerer who always wants to attack the wrong country. Tell the American people that McCain can never find the correct country to attack. He's like a blind man with a shot gun who loves to pull the trigger where ever the gun is pointing.

[kentuck]

2. I agree that responding is a defensive maneuver...

and has nowhere the effect of the initial attack. However, Obama's personality is such that he is like a sleeping lion, you can only poke a stick at him a few times and he will snap back. Hard. I think that is just the way he is.

[asjr]

3. Yes, Obama sees that crap for what it is. If

he struck back each time he would never get anything done or said. Being on the defensive is not a good offense.

[Wapsie B]

4. Obama should be on the offense to the point that the gop core suffers a meltdown.

Let 'em stroke out in anger.

[World Citizen]

5. I kind of like that attitude in general...

Don't play defense. Give the attacks the same credence as a challenge from Hannity... none. It displays a significant level of dignity and meanwhile allows for his surrogates to do what they may... they are going to do that anyway.

[NattPang]

6. McCain's attacks are weak, and he is sounding more like a petty and angry man more and more each day

he has nothing positive to say,
and it is starting to become evident.
The "Get off my lawn" persona is Very unpresidential.
Meanwhile, the Presidential one is being just that.
He is not interested in tearing McCain apart,
best to let McCain do that for him.

[Bonn1997]

7. Yes, and it's a big mistake.

I wrote about this in another thread. Dems have to stop whining about the media. They'll cover negative remarks about the McCain camp as soon as Obama actually starts raising them! Bill Clinton was the only Democratic nominee in the past several decades who understood how to get your hands a little dirty. Barrack's really let me down with his campaigning. It's nice to think that all you have to do is be positive and happy but it's just a fantasy.

[NattPang]

11. Your patience has worn thin quickly.

I'll say that whatever McCain is saying,
everyone knows he's running against Barack
and has a pecific agenda.
Some people may be so dumb as to believe
that McCain's attacks have any truth to them,
but most Americans understand that in order to gain any attention,
McCain has no choice but to talk about Barack Obama.

PS. McCain is doing what Bush I did,
talking about his opponent more than
talking about himself.

[Bonn1997]

18. You can't patiently wait to make a first impression

Once you've waited it's too late. First impressions are way too important to procrastinate on. We need a team that puts in 100% even in the first inning.

[Youphemism]

9. He's using the Cope-a-Dope strategy...

McCain is behind, and fading. His only strategy will be more and more attacks, sounding more and more desperate as he goes.

Unless he has a winning point that needs to be countered with a specific message, the repetition itself will highlight the fact that McCain doesn't resolve anything, doesn't do anything, and doesn't have any real agenda other than trying to tear down Obama.

There was an old 50's radio show -- I've heard it on tape... I'm not *quite* that old -- called "The Bickersons" that had a version of this back-and-forth. The wife would harp on the husband, who would respond to almost any complaint she raised with the words "I hear you, Blanche."

The response fed her nothing to use against him, and positioned her as a nagging wife.

And Blanche was much smarter than McCain.

[AlinPA]

10. He needs to push harder on McCain = Bush**. He seems to have slowed up. Maybe the trip

overseas has occupied him. I don't see reports of big crowds anymore (media shutting him down?).

[goclark]

12. Why does he need to talk to huge crowds now

?

He is the nominee and the thing to do now is GOTV campaign, raise money from donors on the internet and keep looking and acting Presidential.

He can't respond to every stupid thing that McCain says, he would not be able to get anything done and it would give McShame free publicity.


Let the old goat twist in the wind with his stupid spin.

[kentuck]

13. He's prioritizing.

First things first. He will get to McCain in due time.

[Cha]

19. I think so too..

You sound like you've got a handle on their campaign.

[TlalocW]

14. I think the reason he's doing this is

McCain's attacks are so... shoddy? Juvenile? Just plain stupid? that to actually address them with more effort than disappointment would waste time but worse lend credence to McCain. Right now, Obama is in the catbird seat - various polls may show them within a few to as many as 10 percentage points away from each other with Obama on top but from an electoral map standpoint, Obama is crushing McCain. They've raised about the same amount of money, but McCain's dough has come from big donors while a large portion of Obama's is from individuals and the netroots. McCain screws something basic up almost on a daily basis, comes across as a creepy old Grandpa, and even though the media are trying to protect him, the snafus have a cumulative effect. It's also mid-summer, and only the political junkies like us are paying attention. Once the conventions and debates start going, Obama will probably have more money saved up than McCain as well as plenty of examples of McCain's boo-boo's to make effective ads.

TlalocW

[depakid]

15. It would be nice to see the campaign use all the material that they've been handed

on a silver platter more effectively and aggressively.

I agree with you- history shows that it's a BAD idea to focus on "the high road" and be all about "who Obama" (or who Kerry) "is" and ignore obvious and effective material that shows EXACTLY the sort of candidate and policies the McCain campaign is bringing them.

That's not "high mindedness" -that's hubris. And its foolishness as well.

[RazBerryBeret]

17. I believe the credibility of the latest McCain

ad is zero, considering that he states "obama hasn't been to Iraq in years" and all the news reports are and will be about him visiting iraq an afghanistan this weekend. THAT makes McCain look like a buffoon...but keep spending those ad dolllars!!!!

[pot luck]

21. One of the strategists on MSNBC

a week or two ago explain what he was doing. He said that Obama couldn’t attack McCain now, because he was relatively unknown. Romney had made the mistake of attacking before introducing himself to the American public and it backfired. He expected Obama to go negative on McCain after voters were comfortable enough with him to accept the attacks.