What is Obama doing wrong?

[cali]

I can't think of anything significant. So why is he running neck and neck with McCain in a year that dems have a large advantage? C'mon, you must know the answer to that:

He's running while black.

Sorry, there's still a lot of racism in this country, though it's no as overt as it was a generation ago. I believe on some deep and rather primitive level, a lot of white Americans simply can't picture a black man in the White House.

Does that mean he's destined to lose? I don't think so. It just means that it's closer than if some generic white guy was the nominee, but there is no such think as a generic white nominee, and any individual who was the nominee would face the same smear machine. It would still be closer than "generic dem white male nominee v generic repuke white male nominee."

People seem uncomfortable with discussing the role of race in the election, but it's a reality, albeit an unpleasant one. And I believe it does have a bearing on how close the race is.

[greguganus]

1. I can't believe I work around people who still say he's a Muslim and...

...they won't listen to any logic about him being a member of a Christian church, his reverend, etc.

[bdamomma]

41. these people who believe that he's muslim are just ignorant.

[DailyGrind51]

81. They may be ignorant, but they vote, that's the problem!

[FatDave]

100. Willfully ignorant.

It's much worse than just plain ignorance.

[President Decider]

2. MSM is doing everything possible to keep this race close ....

Ratings, Ratings, Ratings .....

[Colobo]

3. You got it.

[cali]

5. Absolutely.

It's vital to them to have a "horse race".

[bdamomma]

42. the media and the RW have been angry since Obama

went to Berlin and shook up the place.

[Benhurst]

10. The corporate media are little more than house organs for powerful

multinational corporations. Ratings are secondary to securing a Republican victory to advance their major objectives. NBC, for instance, is the mouthpiece for Merchant of Death General Electric. GE can comfortably forgo profits from its news division at NBC if more important interests are being served.

While the last eight years have been a disaster for the United States and the world at large, they have been very kind to the military/industrial complex. To expect the American corporate media to take a disinterested position on the current race is unrealistic to say the least.

[enough]

12. Please don't swallow that "ratings" line. They want a McCain win.

They are doing everything they can to make it happen. If the polls stay close, stolen elections don't look so fake.

[quantass]

94. +1

[GreenPartyVoter]

80. That and another set up for stealing yet another election.

[liberaldem4ever]

98. It is so obvious that the MSM is working hard to elect McCain

And it is disgusting. The only show I can watch on MSNBC is Keith's and now Rachel's (when it starts in Sept.). I used to be a huge MSNBC fan, but now they are totally in McCain's pocket. Especially Race to the White House. YUK. David Gregory gags me. Hardball is really bad too. Tweety is passionately in love with McCain. I wonder if his wife knows?

Everything on CNN is RW talking points anymore, except for Jack Cafferty. Ugh.

[rug]

4. It seems a bit early in the campain to be making excuses.

[cali]

7. it seems a bit disingenuous in the face of the obvious

to deny that racism is an obvious factor. When 1 in 6 Americans aren't comfortable with a black man as President, to call these unfortunate facts excuses, is just bizarre... or a sign that you're uttlerly oblivious.

[rug]

9. Oh I'm not oblivious.

To the extent that racism factors in elections, that factor hasn't changed in the last 18 months. Something else is going on and it's more useful to figure out what that is rather than moaning about the obviously unchangeable.

But don't let me stop you.

[EV_Ares]

27. rug, you are correct. We all know that race was and is going to be a factor to a certain percentage

of the population. That is a given unfortunately. However, as you say, something else is going on right now and it needs to be figured out and I feel comfortable that the Obama campaign knows that and either is working on it or has plans to counter it. They haven't got to this point by being stupid. I think after the conventions, more people will be paying attention to the campaign and for right now you have the media parroting McCain without any fact-checking of what he says or does, you have the Russia/Georgia flareup and all in all I don't trust the media and the polling. Who knows what for sure it is, I just hope Obama does, I sure as hell don't want to lose again. I really would like to see the democrats for once, just once, fight back, play as dirty as the republicans and give them a taste of their own medicine.

[Colobo]

13. So, why do you think Obama is "underperforming"?

[rug]

22. The immediate thing that comes to mind is the dilution of his platform.

His broader approach to isues over the last two months is not paying off with strong new supporters and is at the cost of his natural base.

IMHO.

[Loge23]

6. If he's going down - go down swinging

Obama needs to tell the real story about the incompetence of the repukes.
Don't hold back.

[Enrique]

8. he's also young and has a short political record

I honestly and not completely sure if his race hurts him or helps him.

[Arkansas Granny]

17. Those are points that were considered by some during the primaries.

Like you, I'm not sure if race is that much of a factor. Undoubtedly, some won't vote for him due to his race, but he has so much support from the AA community that it may not matter.

[enfield collector]

95. I don't think race is a factor

let's face it the racists were always going to vote repuke anyway.

[chitty]

11. I hate to say it, but

he needs to "dumb down" his campaign.

The bulk of the electorate lives in soundbites.

That's all they understand.

[AllentownJake]

14. He let McCain punch him for a month and gave mediocre responses

Race has a small portion to do with it but he's coming off as weak right now.

[Colobo]

15. He needs to hit back much harder. I agree.

[yellerpup]

16. Spoke with a dear friend in a nursing home yesterday

She reports that "only two" people in her home are planning to vote for Obama. She says that "they don't believe that he isn't a Muslim" but that is "really a cover up because they are racist." She lives in a red state and when I first met her was a very effective fundraiser for local (OK) Republican candidates. That changed when her priest son was dismissed from his Jesuit order for admitting that he would be gay if he were sexually active. She's definitely a Democrat now! Hope the younger crowd shows up for this election because the old folks, according to my friend, "are very comfortable with their prejudice."

[nevergiveup]

18. A combination of three things

A rough primary, a biased pro-McCain press and race. I still know several Hillary supporters who will likely stay home or vote for McCain. It is useless to discuss it with them and very discouraging as they have come to hate Barack. The racial factor was always there and the bias by the press is getting worse in my opinion. We can still win this if we can tie McCain to Bush. The picture of McCain hugging Bush should be splattered across TV screens 24/7 until election day.

[No Elephants]

26. Excellent Points!

[Bake]

86. It is NOT the fault of Hillary supporters that Obama is suddenly running a lousy campaign.

Nor is it our fault (and I say "our" because I was a Hillary supporter who now supports Obama) that Obama decided to take a week and let McCain have unilateral access to the national stage and let his slime machine go unanswered.

Obama ran a nearly flawless campaign in the primaries. What the hell happened???

Bake

[PolNewf]

19. He was away from campaign trail

First the Middle East\European trip and then the vacation has meant Obama has not been campaigning for ~50% of the last month. Obama predicted a drop in the polls.

It isn't all bad. Two positives are it ends McCain's underdog meme and Obama now has the moral high road, his attacks are seen as a necessary response to McCain's attacks.

We should keep in mind that just like any story or novel the hero must have highs and lows. There is no way Obama can keep the high minded rhetoric going for months at a time. He needed a dip or lull before he could ramp it back up.

[Bake]

87. Yeah, that moral high road served us so well with Kerry.....

:sarcasm:

Bake

[AZSlacker]

20. The recent McCain bump can probably be attributed to

the fact that Obama was on vacation last week. Compounding that was the fact that Russia invaded Georgia during that time. Not to be a debbie downer, but the polls that come out next week at this time may very well be worse, as these polls don't reflect what will likely be another bump from the Saddleback event for McCain. All things remaining equal however these two weeks will probably be the peak for McCain in poll performance.

[No Elephants]

31. His campaign peeps are smart. Just keep donating and volunteering.

[progressoid]

21. A few ideas...

Saturation of negative ads by McCain during the Olympics. McCain had a couple ads that appealed to those fence sitters base emotions. He only needed to swing a couple percent and it worked.

Corsi's book too. It may not have converted anyone but the buzz might have convinced a few Rs to stop whining about McCain and get on board with the GOP.

Obama took a few days off. Can't let your guard down.

Some are saying the Georgia conflict showed Obama's weakness in foreign policy but I don't think many Americans give a shit about it.

Oh, yeah...he's black.

[No Elephants]

23. Of course, racism is a factor. But voters seem to respond

to short sound bites and Dems are always nuanced and thoughtful. We need both. Change and Hope are good, but we need some specific ones, too, like "America's Economy Needs Obama."

[Benhurst]

34. "America's Economy Needs Obama" is no more substantive than

Hope and Change.

Obama needs to come out swinging as an economic populist, offering single-payer national health, a revitalized infrastructure, etc., etc., etc.

And he needs to stand up to the obscene military/industrial complex and its empire which is gutting this country.

The more Obama projects himself as just more of the same with a handful of vague, feel-good slogans, the better John McCain's chances for victory become.

[Romulox]

67. Economic populism would ensure an easy win, but Obama is no economic populist, unfortunately...nt

[No Elephants]

76. As I said, we need both nuance and sound bites.

[flamingdem]

24. Thanks for discussing the glaring issues we are facing

but I feel positive Obama will win -- if there is only a minimum of election fraud. What happened at Saddleback reminded me that the Republicans feel entitled to break the rules...

Sadly I do believe race is a big factor even with Dems. I have family in the south and ... even though they are democrats their children have picked up on the Obama is muslim meme at school.

[No Elephants]

29. For some, the Muslim meme is code for race. So is "I just don't like him."

[flamingdem]

33. I almost added that to the post! This is what I heard from

my niece ... and I knew she was getting this from the racist kids who don't know exactly what a Muslim is but their parents are using that term and indicating that it is race but not okay to say it directly. Back on Long Island I have friends who are flooded with Obama is Muslim emails from a Jewish perspective, I'm not sure if that is veiled racism or that they really think he'd drop support for Israel.

[No Elephants]

73. If you know Jews who are hesitant about Obama, refer them to

the Horovitz interview of obama for the Jerusalem Post. Horovitz seemed more impressed with Obama than with Bush and McCain combined. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331099249&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

[ProSense]

25. delete

[terrya]

28. I would not humiliate myself by giving any advice.

I am not, by any means, politically savvy.

He's won elections, not me.

I think he's doing just fine.

Your point about race. People have said in polls that they have no problems with an African-American President. But those are polls. We're in uncharted waters, electionwise right now.

Of course race is an issue. It would be a runaway election if it were a white male at the head of the ticket.

[MaineDem]

30. Most people aren't even thinking about the campaign yet

Any poll now is meaningless.

He'll get a bump after the VP announcement and probably after the convention. And the same will happen for McCain.

Then it's all guns blazing toward November.

[BeyondGeography]

32. Blame America first

They fall for the same bullshit every time. We've won three elections in the last 40 years, one post-Watergate (by the skin of our teeth), one thanks to Ross Perot and one re-election against Old Bob Dole. Anyone who thought this would be easy because the so-called "dems large advantage" should take a break a read Nixonland.

[bdamomma]

43. I remember this saying

Americans are biggest BS'ers and the easiest to BS.

sigh.........................sigh......................

[Lorien]

68. There are far more Demcrats in America than Republicans. Appeal to US

and you win. Take us for granted AGAIN and you'll get the same results as before.

[flamingdem]

35. It's all about the young and Latino vote, help is needed to reach these groups

wherever possible. Phone banking is a good way to reach the Latino population in FL, CO, New Mexico, CA, NY etc.

[Clark2008]

36. Ignoring the left's most knowledgeable foreign policy expert.

He's about lost me as a result (not that I'll go over to the dark side - just the green side).

[flamingdem]

38. Really who cares, we're here to get Obama elected nt

[Clark2008]

52. If he keeps that up, that won't be my goal.

BTW, a lot of people care.

We're not necessarily after the VP, but to ignore him, period, is STUPID. Shows a great lack of the judgment we keep hearing about.

[closeupready]

54. WRONG attitude. Telling people who want a Dem elected 'eff off" when criticizing

the candidate is a perfect way to get people to sit out. Keep it up and we'll have another four years of pukiness.

[flamingdem]

62. I think it is silly to focus on the VP when what matters is getting the White House

and it is so obvious it doesn't need to be stated, that much is true.

[merh]

45. I've not been online a whole lot lately

who is it you are referring to?

[flamingdem]

37. ** We all know that this is why we need a massive turnout... why feel depressed

when you can sign up for phone banking or registering people to vote.

Only the numbers will save us now... Massive amounts of new voters and young people and Latinos going to the polls.

[wvbygod]

39. I see no evidence of race being a factor in the election

Sure, there are closet bigots and racists in every corner of the world but most of them
are too lazy or ignorant to go out and vote. I don't believe a significant number of voters
would vote AGAINST Obama because of his race any more than I think any group of voters
would vote FOR Obama because of his race.

I'd think perceived inexperience and the media are the bigger forces at work here.

[No Elephants]

110. You must be joking.

[Phoonzang]

40. I think he made 3 big mistakes this month. They are as follows:

1.) While the trip to Iraq and Afganistan was a good idea, making that speech in Germany in front of adoring EUROPEAN crowds allowed him to be pegged with the celebrity label. While that speech was very impressive and heartening to us, it gained him nothing and he should have known that wouldn't play well in

2.) He took that week for vacation. While it ended up being bad luck that the Georgia War broke during that week, it made him look rather bad. The public saw images of him frolicking on the beach and body surfing while McCain was down to business addressing the issue head on. For one, he shouldn't have taken such a long vacation during a period when the campaign was tightening and he probably should have cancelled the vacation and come back when the war got serious. THAT would have truly made him look presidential.

3.) He still tried to stay on the high road. Instead of hitting hard at his opponent he's just taken punishment this month. To the public he looks like a wimp and a punching bag. McCain looks decisive and tough. Dumbass Americans like that. Obama's started hitting back, but it seems half-hearted and it's clear he's not comfortable with him. The key will be to find someone who can do it if he cant'. He needs to drive up McCain's negatives and tear down the "Maverick" image. Hit him not only on the issues, but on his character, just like McCain is doing to Obama.

He's lost the momentum he had and he's tanking. He's going to need a big jolt to get him out of the downward spiral, either through an electrifying VP choice (not Biden, Bayh, Sebellius, Kaine) or a truly amazing convention (unlikely). The problem is that people start paying attention after Labor Day, and the Republican convention starts then. So the first thing they're going to really see is the Republican message.

I have little hope for victory this November but there's always a chance if Obama shows the same come-from-behind spirit and savvy that he did during the primaries. He just needs to STOP SITTING THERE. DO SOMETHING! GET UP! FIGHT!

Ok...I'm done yelling now.

[BeyondGeography]

44. Hugging McCain at the Faux Family Values Forum was dumb

This guy is trying to kill you, Barack. Americans like killers. Wake the fuck up already.

Nice post.

[elkston]

70. Even though you're a Wizardry fan :), I disagree with you.

Obama IS a fighter. He is not a pushover. And he won't be punked.

He's a black man and he needs to be very careful how he displays his rage. This seems to be lost on a lot of people.

[highplainsdem]

46. Saying it's just racism is much too simplistic an answer. There are a lot of people who are

concerned about his lack of experience.

I read much more about him during the last weeks of the primaries and this summer than I'd ever read before. And while a lot of it was very impressive, I also noticed stories, again and again, about how, when he first floated the idea of running for a higher office -- the next rung up -- even friends of his who thought he should run for that office someday told him it was too early, that he should wait and get more experience. He ran anyway, and most of the time was successful. (He lost that bid for the Congressional seat held by Bobby Rush.)

He never won any tough races, though.

He brought in lawyers to disqualify all his Democratic opponents in a Democratic district in his first run for the Illinois state senate. He had every right to do that, it was typical Chicago hardball politics, but it still meant he had no real opposition then.

He lost to Bobby Rush. Badly. But according to what I read, he learned a lot from that loss, which was helpful later.

He won his race for the US Senate because the Rethug who'd have been his strongest opponent bowed out due to scandal, and Alan Keyes was so easy to defeat in his stead.

So Obama has never won a really tough race against a strong opponent -- until his very narrow victory in the primaries. Which was aided by those caucus victories, which have no parallel in the GE.

He has a tough opponent in McCain, who's the strongest candidate the GOP could have run this year. We're deluding ourselves if we try to pretend McCain doesn't have a lot of GOP and independent support, with his favorability rating about twice as high as Bush's approval rating. It's foolish to underestimate him, and I've been worried that DUers amusing themselves posting silly nicknames mocking McCain were losing sight of how popular and resilient a Republican politician he really is.


Besides Obama's lack of experience (as many view it; I'm not going to get into an argument about whether that's a correct viewpoint since the point is that polls show many people do feel that way) -- including lack of experience winning tough campaigns -- there's the problem that he was never the overwhelming favorite among Democrats. The primary race was too close for him to have much chance of winning the GE without a unity ticket. We have a large numerical advantage over the Republicans, but it doesn't mean much if the party isn't united.

And two months after the primaries ended, we still don't know if there will be a unity ticket.

I believe Obama would be doing much better in the polls right now if he'd announced at Unity NH that Hillary Clinton was going to be on the ticket as his running mate.

He can still turn this around if he names her as his running mate.

But if she isn't, if he chooses anyone else, I don't think we're going to be very happy with poll results or election results this fall.

And by not announcing a unity ticket in June, he lost important time that could have been used to consolidate the party and his lead over McCain.




Editing to add a point I've made here again and again -- the basic political alignments in this country, the number of liberals versus moderates and conservatives, meant this was always going to be a close race, even after Bush's disastrous presidency, and we were kidding ourselves if we felt otherwise.

Link to a Rasmussen article showing percentages of voters self-identifying themselves as liberal, moderate and conservative:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/public_perceptions_of_obama_and_mccain_shifting_rapidly

In this kind of political climate, Obama needs every advantage he can get. And the greatest advantage he could get is the one Clinton could bring him as his running mate.

[Name removed]

71. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[highplainsdem]

74. No, I want Obama to win. As I've been posting here all along. I just don't think he has nearly as

good a chance to win without a unity ticket.

And there's evidence from the polls to back that up, and the CBS/NYT poll of delegates and superdelegates show they agree she'd help the ticket. I suppose you think they want Obama to lose, too.

Stop overreacting to the idea of a unity ticket. There is nothing unusual about it. So many Clinton-bashers here act as though both Hillary and Bill should have been exiled, or at least disappeared from public view, after the primaries, with the Clinton name expunged from party history and the Clintons completely forgotten. Ridiculous attitude. The Clinton-bashers are no more representative of the mainstream of the Democratic Party, and no more helpful for party unity, than PUMAs.

[No Elephants]

77. She has less experience than he does..

[Chloroplast]

88. That's not true.

She was First Lady for 8 years.

[zulchzulu]

47. MSM giving McCain a free pass while continuing Hillary spin on Obama

Hillary Clinton did a fantastic job to set the stage for the McCain campaign to use what are rather pointless, myopic and tawdry accusations (like he "he only has a speech" comment) and McCain's many gaffes are not analyzed or commented on.

Imagine if:
- Obama had the Sunnis and Shiites mixed up
- Obama kept repeating Czechoslovakia, a country that disappeared 15 years ago
- Obama stuttered through a question with deathly silence like the clip of McCain in Panama, FL
- Obama screwed up on the the so-called "surge" started
- Obama plagiarized a phrase from another Nobel Prize writer
- Obama mixed up where the border of Afghanistan and Iraq exist (which they don't)
- Obama referred to Putin as the President of Germany
- Obama had mixed up Sudan for Somalia referring to Darfur

It goes on... if Obama had done JUST ONE OF THESE GAFFES, he would have been skewered by the MSM. McCain, on the other hand, gets the free pass and the absolute lie that he is a "maverick" continuing to be referred to by the complacent MSM. "He's charming... he's a POW... he's a maverick..."

[Bluenorthwest]

48. Primary Obama was a vote making machine

General Election Obama ignores his base and tries to convert the unconvertable.

[TwilightGardener]

53. How has he "ignored his base" ? What is his base? Define it.

[closeupready]

55. Oh, please.

You know exactly what he's saying. :eyes:

[TwilightGardener]

57. No, I don't. Here's what I wrote on another thread--

The assumption that Obama needs to defy conventional wisdom by
running leftward instead of embracing the center is massively flawed. The "base" of the Democratic party is not the far left. The far left is but one (vocal) part of the Democratic party. In fact, I'd argue that there IS no "base" to our party. We're a collection of various groups and interests and demographics. We have the Democrats in KY and WV who would never vote for a black guy (I mean, Obama was losing to Hillary 80-20 in many counties--come on), even though we're supposedly the party of civil rights and tolerance--are THEY the base? Is it the "lunch pail" ethnic Catholics who vote on economic issues, but are pro-life? What makes us Democratic? And for whatever reason, we're FAR more likely to jump ship and vote Republican than Repubs are likely to jump ship and vote for Democrats. People like Dem policies, for the most part, but they don't seem to like Dem candidates in general. People hate Republican policies, but seem to like Repub candidates. We need to examine these problems honestly, instead of assuming there's a simple answer like "Obama needs to embrace his base".

[MasonJar]

49. Earlier in the week there was a posting regarding their respective

ads. It seems that McCain is outspending Obama , sometimes by double figures, in battleground states. I am sure that will change after the GOP convention. However, that is not the only answer because Barack is running ads in several states that McCain is not and it has not helped that much. Barack needs to go on the offense; he must create more stinging and effective sound bites. Unfortunately sound bites are today's politics. McCain is a disaster..use his own work and words to show and prove what a cocky mess he is. The MSM is not going to help. Obama must do it himself. He insisted that he could handle the current and impending GOPer trashing, but so far he has NOT.

[Democat]

50. He is following John Kerry's playbook.

One of the most ridiculous things that we read and hear from our side is that "no one pays attention until after the convention" or some specific date. That is absolutely not true. People are getting their first impressions of both candidates right now. The first impression they are getting of Obama is being created by McCain. The first impression they are getting of McCain is by McCain.

Obama should be taking the time right now to define McCain to voters (go negative) - before they see him at the Republican convention. They need to have doubts in their mind before they see him at his best. This is exactly what the Republicans understand and what they did to Kerry and what they are doing to Obama. When the public sees Obama at the convention, they will be full of doubts about him because of McCain's advertising and attacks. Obama has not done the work needed to create doubts about McCain before he appears at the convention.

Also, the Obama vacation was right out of John Kerry's playbook. Could that have been any better for McCain if it was planned for Obama by Rove himself? What was the Obama campaign thinking? Did they pay attention during the 2004 campaign at all?

The whole thing is seeming more and more like 2004. Our side is afraid to punch, so they just take punches instead. Taking punches doesn't win elections.

I hope Obama can turn this around, but right now it feels like watching a replay of a fight you already lost.

[MarjorieG]

69. I'm more thantired reading Kerry didn't hit back. He did, harder than given credit for.

I, for one, refuse to let this maneuvering by McCain, Rove to start this war, now, to get McC elected. Where is the discussion?

[Major Hogwash]

51. It's not just because he's black. If he won't fight fire with fire, he will be toast.

We know the Republicans have used a "scorched earth" policy for the last 20+ years, and if Obama does not fight fire with fire, he will be burned in the process.

Then everyone can just sit back on their collective haunches and say "well, it's a racist country" and cry in their soup for the next 4 years.
We can't afford that shit.

Obama needs to attack McCain where he is at his weakest, economics!!!!
And Obama needs to come up with a short phrase, a short slogan to bang it home.
He needs to stop making long speeches that people fall asleep listening to, and come up with a slogan that he can use to beat McCain over the head with.

[TwilightGardener]

56. I like, "John McCain: Same old, same old"--gets the sameness

of Repub politics along with the age thing in there--but it's such a common phrase, you can't really say it's ageism.

[Beer Snob-50]

58. unfortunatly you are right about the race card!

he seems to be doing everything right that kerry and gore did not do (mainly blunting the lies of the repugnant talk machine)and it is still flipping close.

last night i was watching a family guy rerun where lois ran for mayor of quahog. people wouldn't listen to her if she spewed policy or tried to talk intelligently but if she spewed immigration, 9/11, terrorist the voters went crazy. that is all mccain has done and it is showing.

[geek tragedy]

59. He's not attacking McCain's character.

That's a surefire way to lose.

[TwilightGardener]

63. Yep--I think he needs to start attacking McCain not just on character, but on

fitness for office--there are actual quotes from Repub Senators (Thad Cochran, for one) about how McCrazy frightens them and is not the person to have his finger on the button. If Obama can't do it directly, then he needs 527s to take this on, as well as the age issue--which IS a very real concern. Obama, though, should make McCrazy out to be a big fucking sell-out say-anything liar--that's something HE can do that wouldn't be out of bounds.

[closeupready]

64. I agree with you on that.

McCain has lied about so many things, an attack on McCain's "straight talk" would be very inbounds, since McCain sells himself as a "straight talker".

[Barack_America]

60. Actually, he's running while principled.

While McCain has abandoned his and seems to be getting away with it by hiding behind the POW meme. But that shield can only hide so much filth.

And, doing so, McCain is risking the separation of his personal integrity from his POW experience. The campaign should work on prying that oyster open.

[Upton]

61. He's coming across as soft

allowing the McCain campaign to define him. The vacation in Hawaii was a mistake as was the appearance at Saddleback.

[Romulox]

65. Lack of focus on the economy; "Stimulus II" plan insufficient...nt

[Lorien]

66. Abandoning his base, running to Right of center, not standing strongly for

anything except the concepts of "hope" and "change", which are hardly specific platforms.

[No Elephants]

75. Well, Obama's base better not abandon Obama. McCain is not running to the left.

[Lorien]

82. The centrists better not abandon Obama?

To the Right, McCain is also a "centrist", so McCain runs to the Right

[No Elephants]

111. Democrats of all stripes are Obama's base. Or should be.

[Snellius]

72. Maybe being behind will be the best wake-up call

Nice guys always lose.

[Neshanic]

78. You asked, so here it is....

Big one, running to the center on issues that are not far from McCain land.

STOP talking to us like we all have a Masters in something. The average American has the attention span of a bug.

Answer questions with forcefullness and brevity, with the attack line attached.

Attack! Attack! ATTACK! I don't care if this is the Mayan cycle new age crapfest different this time election of balance harmony and being nice. It's an election. They have them every four years. Since the begining of the country. This country. Is there anything different this time? Has there been ANYTYHING different this time? Have the republicans transformed into magical ponies? No. So go out there and attack your opponent like a good candidate. I know you can do it.

Get some of the more creative minds to come up with an across the board change in your commercials. More potent. The attack ads done by support groups should be offthe hook creative. Jesus we are Democrats! Half the bitchy gays in LA can come up with better fucking ads.

There.

[Lorien]

83. Well put. The ads are as blad and non specific as possible

we aren't pointing to the MASSIVE failures of the past eight years, and none of Obama's policies are being distilled into sound bites. Whenever DUers were asked about specific policies that Kerry had, they were always referred to his website or told to "read up" on Kerry's policies on other online publications. Same with Obama "Well, if you just read his book..." how in the hell is Joe Blow, who barely has time to sleep holding down two jobs and fighting off foreclosure-going to take the time out to read Obama's book or website? I'm VERY concerned about climate change, but Obama's website only gives me very general, non revolutionary, "ethanol is wonderful" policy positions that leave me hopeless and uninspired. If you're base feels this way, you're fucked.

[FVZA_Colonel]

89. I don't think his adds are necessarily bad, but they are aimed at the wrong target.

He needs to be going after McCain the person, but he's spending time trying to attack his positions. And McCain's positions are certainly weak, but that's not what he should be focusing on right now; not at all.

[Whisp]

79. that and the campaign finance rules are different for each.

McCain has a deadline in which he must spend before the convention - so he's blitzing some areas with ads and this may explain the uptick in some of his poll numbers compared to Obama - who does not have to adhere to this rule and has tons of money and time to start his flood of ads.

[Carrieyazel]

84. Not EFFECTIVELY fighting back, weak responses to McCain's ads

Letting himself get recorded in SF with his rural voters "clinging" remark, going to that stupid Saddleback forum are reasons that come to mind.

[hoffyburger]

85. It's just ebb and flow

People haven't made up their minds because he's new...look for him to seperate in the last weeks like Reagan did

[tomg]

103. I have to agree. Watching the daily

polls really gets everyone sort of crazy ( me, too). Frankly, I think Obama is doing everything right. This guy is a distance runner, and he knows what he is doing. I don't think it will even be terribly tight. Oh, and welcome to DU.

[ellisonz]

90. He did not eat a plate lunch as promised while in Hawaii.

[Life Long Dem]

91. The Republicans are falling apart

10% of them say they won't even go to the convention. Huge marches are scheduled to disrupt this convention. If there are 10 percent of the Republicans not accepting a convention I can imagine a very good percentage are at the convention that don't accept it.

[Awsi Dooger]

92. We were never going to win comfortably if we nominated a black or a woman

This cycle is much easier to digest if you accepted that from the outset. I supported Edwards initially because he fit the dosage index to an easy win. The way that unfolded, naturally I'm thrilled we avoided him.

[StuffyJones]

93. Couldn't agree more.

Obama has run the perfect campaign and he's pretty much the perfect candidate. This shouldn't be close.

Either the polls are off or it's racism. Because this should be a blowout and Obama is running a fine campaign.

[marlakay]

96. Its not obama it would be any dem

the media is biased and half the country is conservative in values and is led easily by the media.

if hillary was the one attack dog or not the repubs would come out full throng on clinton's affairs and old shit they did, you can bet on it. it would be so negative its not funny since both would go down and dirty...

alot of excited dems would stay home disgusted in more of the same especially since hillary isn't that progressive no matter what she says.

[Stand and Fight]

97. Bullshit.

He may not be losing ground for all we know. On the other hand... If he is, it is because he's doing what Democrats always do. He's playing chicken-shit move-to-the-Right games on issues and not sticking it to the Republicans. They play it tough and that's how we ought to play it. This "high road" shit is what causes us to lose. McCain has a TON of baggage that we could beat him and the Republicans over the head with, but what are we doing? We're saying, "We honor and respect John McCain's patriotism and service," when we ought to be saying, "How can John McCain be trusted to be loyal to this country and its principles when he failed to do so in his first marriage, when he has consistently betrayed the ideals of the uniform he wore as an officer?" That's why we MAY be slipping. It has NOTHING to do with race. And, before the haters start up, I'm gonna say it loud, "I'm Black and I'm proud." :D

[Hippo_Tron]

99. He's doing nothing wrong, it's bad to peak too early, save it for the fall

When he will have at least twice as much cash as McSame to spend.

[IsItJustMe]

101. People don't like change. PERIOD. It does not have to be racial for one to stay within one's

comfort zone. Of course there is some racism, but I think resistance to change has more to do with it. And you have to admit, Obama would be a dramatic change from what we have had for over the last 200 years.

[No Elephants]

109. In what way would Obama be a dramatic change from the past 200 years?

[IsItJustMe]

116. Seems obvious to me anyway. For over the last two hundred years we have had white male presidents

with all of the cultural influenced that come with that fact. Obama would be quit different, culturaly and ethnically. I am ready for change. I prey most of this country is also.

[IsItJustMe]

117. dup

[Joe Holmes]

102. Obama is a GREAT candidate.

I'm proud to support him. However, no matter how much he tries to disguise it, everyone knows he's a liberal. And most of the country isn't liberal. Thats a fact.

[Name removed]

104. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tomg]

106. Interesting first post.

Mushroom or plain?

[Name removed]

108. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[depakid]

105. Pandering

Never makes a candidate look strong,

[No Elephants]

112. No one has pandered more than McCain.

[styersc]

107. So fucking ignorant.

I'm ashamed to be a member of this party on some days.

[No Elephants]

113. Just think how ashamed you'd have to be if you were Republican.

[McCamy Taylor]

114. Cali, you took the words out of my mouth. Running while Black. Lots of bigots in the USA.

That is why he has to try so hard to look intellectual (to counter the "all Blacks are dumb, ignorant, emotion driven"), calm (to counter the "all Blacks are dangerous, violent, scary"), middle of the road (to counter the " all Blacks are Angela Davis plus Malcolm X"). If he were a woman and Black, it would be easier, like Condi Rice. "Fear the Black Man" has been used in some parts of the US since Reconstruction to keep the working classes divided and conquered, and the capitalists are not about to let go of a good thing.

It will be a good thing for this country to see that its prejudices are unfounded, and that what has been attributed to race was actually due to poverty and lack of health care, education and other opportunities.

[MGKrebs]

115. May not be the campaign, but some supporters.

There is a strong component of Obama volunteers who seem to have little use for anyone over 40 years old, anyone who has been connected to their local Party for more than about 6 months, and of course anyone who supported Hillary in the primary. That could be driving some volunteers away.

[TheDonkey]

118. He needs to better define McClown. Right now he has multiple attacks, neither is sticking

hopefully we'll find a good opening soon. Obviously tying him to Bush would be best. There are others too.