Waiting for the Bell to Ring.

[last1standing]

Since so many armchair generals here at DU are trying to tell Sen. Obama how to run his campaign, I thought I'd throw out my opinion as to what Obama is doing wrong right now.

Don't get me wrong, I think his responses to McCain's lies are excellent - for the few people who ever get to hear them. The problem is that the media is running McCain's ads for free over and over while Obama's responses are relegated to the occasional throw-away remark. There's nothing unusual there - a good block is never as exciting as a barrage of jabs so the media focuses on the hits. This is why Obama needs to be playing "rope-a-dope" right now instead of just hoping for a TKO.

And that's the question. Is Obama letting McCain expend his resources so that he can come in with a killer barrage after the old man's worn out and panting, or is Obama merely blocking him and hoping his numbers hold up till the final bell rings? Either way, I think the time has come to start hitting back and keep hitting till November.

Getting out of the boxing analogy, it's called getting in front of the argument. In a public discussion the person who can move the debate and keep the focus on the issue of his choice will always win. The person who responds, regardless of how well or intelligently, will always lose.

Al Gore destroyed bush* in the debates, he was running on a solid economy, and he was much more in tune with the will of the electorate. And then he lost. I know he won more votes and that the SCOTUS raped the constitution to install bush*, but Gore didn't lose the election, he lost the presidency, and he lost it by allowing the bush* machine to paint him as "Soreloserman". He lost when he refused to play hardball with bush* by getting the message to the people that he was the one who was really ahead in the FL counts. He lost by refusing to challenge obviously tampered votes that came in from military bases. He lost because he only blocked bush's* hits, he never hit back.

Then John Kerry made the same mistake. Running against a failed economy, a lost and illegal war, and a president who was being linked to another new scandal every week, Kerry did nothing but respond to bush's* lies, he never came out and hit back with solid slams on bush's* character, intelligence, or his sordid history. Then when the Ohio results were shown to be "irregular" at best, bush* never even had to lay a glove - Kerry folded like a cheap suit before bush* could knock him around anymore.

Obama needs to lead the national agenda, not respond to it. He needs to hit McCain with accusations and plant doubt at every turn. Of course he shouldn't do this himself. One of Obama's greatest selling points is the idea that he's above the fray - a ploy Bill Clinton used to great effect against Bush, Sr. and Dole - but he does need to have his people out there on the talk shows asking what's so "honorable" about McCain.

Why was he so involved with Charles Keating?

Why did he vote against establishing MLK day then claim to have worked to enact it?

Why did he cheat on his crippled wife with a much younger heiress?

Did he really call his new wife a "cunt" and a "trollop"?

Why does he make so many rape jokes?

Why did he push so hard to give a large defense contract to a foreign company over the American Boeing?

Why did he change his views on off-shore drilling immediately after receiving large contributions from the oil companies?

There are so very many questions about McCain's leadership, judgment and character that aren't being asked right now, but should be. Obama needs to get these questions circulating in the media so that McCain has to respond to them. Even if McCain's malicious carelessness didn't cause the USS Forrestal to catch fire it would be devastating for him to have to deny it. Even if he isn't a traitor due to his Vietnamese propaganda videos, he should be made to explain exactly why he did them and how breaking military codes of POW conduct doesn't make him a traitor.

Unlike Hollywood, in politics not all publicity is good publicity. The polls show that many people believe they are hearing too much about Obama right now. I agree. It's time to get in front of the argument and let the people learn all about McCain.

That's how you get a knockout.

[cbc5g]

1. I think after the Republican convention something damning will come out against McCain

either from a 527 or from Obama's campaign. I think his strategy is to put McCain on the spot after the Republican convention.

[last1standing]

3. I just hope that isn't too late.

I think it's important to define McCain early so that he's more susceptible to a good barrage of attacks at the 23rd hour.

[KittyWampus]

2. Another DUer put it quite well. You NEVER explain yourself in politics. To drive the narrative

the way you want it, you don't answer your opponents charges, you make your own against your opponent.