Kos is blowing up Obama, and anointing Hillary

[PDittie]

in successive posts:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/29/115437/41

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/29/115433/18

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/29/155750/64

Sometimes that dude really pisses me off.

[Larkspur]

1. I never got the impression that Kos likes the Clintons

but he's not impressed with Obama either.

[MethuenProgressive]

15. Good, and objective, stuff from kos.

Nice change.

[Lex]

2. Obama's blowing himself up.

nt

[cali]

3. I thought his analysis was sound

from kos:

Steady, steady
by kos
Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 01:22:16 PM PDT
A few thoughts about the presidential campaign:

1.) In 2003, it made sense for campaigns to build a strategy around the possibility that Dean would implode. I mean, Howard was a ticking time bomb. Every time I saw him about to speak, I would cringe and hold my breath, praying he said nothing damaging to the campaign.

In 2007, it's been frustrating seeing everyone except Edwards run a safe, milquetoast, non-threatening race, thinking it would somehow challenge the Hillary machine.

Clinton is no Howard Dean. In fact, she may be the most disciplined politician I have ever seen. She's a machine, always on message, relentlessly perfect on everything -- appearance, message, and policy. It's that discipline that has allowed her to fool people into thinking she'd pull all of our troops out of Iraq and that her vote on Iran wasn't REALLY as horrible as it really was.

She won't make a mistake. She will not implode. She's too good to make the obvious mistake, and even if she erred (she's human, so we can assume), her campaign wouldn't waste any time setting things straight.

2.) Any campaign seeking to overcome her institutional advantages and personal talents had to be based on more than "keeping up with the fundraising".

Instead, Obama fundraised like crazy, making his campaign NOT about personal empowerment, but about sending in the cash, and Edwards took public financing, endangering an Edwards nomination by limiting how much he could spend through the summer if he won.

The annals of political history are replete with examples of Davids slaying better-funded Golliathes. Had they focused on undermining Hillary's message, rather than engaging in a fundraising race, perhaps we wouldn't see Hillary pulling away from the pack.

3.) The polls don't lie -- the more people see of Hillary, the more they like her. I once wrote a post titled something like "if Obama runs, he wins". The fat lady hasn't sung yet, so I might still prove prescient. But I'd be shocked if I was. I expected Hillary's numbers to drop as people became better acquainted with Obama, Edwards, Richardson, and some of the others. But in fact, the opposite has happened.

What I'm seeing is lots of people take a look at HIllary, then say, "Why was it that I hated her again?" The right-wing press told everyone for so long that they hated Clinton, that people simply assumed they did. When they see her, they're no longer so sure.

On that same vein, I recently talked to a federal candidate in a tough, red-leaning state. I asked the candidate if Hillary would make for a more difficult race. A year ago, the universal answer was "yes". But this time, this candidate said, "You'd think so, but I'm no longer so sure. I'm hearing a lot from my constituents, 'I used to hate Hillary, but...'"

On the merits, I would put Hillary fourth on my list. But I don't think she's an electoral disaster in the making. In fact, seeing the sheer effectiveness of her campaign machine -- it truly is a well-oiled machine -- I feel pretty confident that she'd win the White House and win it BIG.

[stellanoir]

4. Guilt by association is such bull.

He had no way of knowing what that Rev. would say.

Chill people.

[mondo joe]

6. He had no way of knowing? That is such bull.

And to not counter it? More bull.

[Horse with no Name]

8. When you knowingly invite someone who has an anti-Gay agenda

and that person espouses their agenda, then yes, you DO know.

[bryant69]

10. You are thinking of Guilt by association when applied to the innocent

but many people here have already concluded that Obama is a bad candidate - so in this case Guilt by Association applies.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Bluebear]

12. He had no way of knowing? LOL!!!

[jonnyblitz]

13. wow, could you be any more clueless. after reading all the

accounts on this mess it is OBVIOUS this was a calculated effort on his part to appeal to this homophobic crowd. but,go ahead, keep your head in the sand like the other CLUELESS Obama supporters here at DU. the fundie homophobes deliver more votes than us pesky homos. :eyes:

[Richard Steele]

18. Stuff and nonsense! That's just utterly ridiculous. nm

[jonnyblitz]

5. Senator Osama deserves ALL the shit he is getting. nt

[eyesroll]

7. But he does NOT deserve to be called "Senator Osama."

Come on. That's a right-wing talking point, and a cheap one at that.

[madrchsod]

9. who cares what kos thinks?.....

oh yes..he does....does he thinks the canidates actually listens to him and his kossacks?

[cali]

20. of course candidates listen to him

that's why they post there.

[msongs]

11. he does not believe that hillary clinton eats human babies for breakfast nt

[Bitwit1234]

14. Well since Obama announced his candidacy the Obama supporters

at DU have been doing the same here. They are trying their damdedest to shove him down our throat. And frankly it has done the opposite.

[stellanoir]

16. Sorry I just think this is circular firing squad material

intended to bolster our heiress apparant, who the right wing longs for us to appoint.

Call me clueless. I pay more than sharp attention.

And I don't think in this land formerly lauded as the land of diversity, two families should control the executive branch of government for two decades.

This was a plant.

So I'm clueless.

tra la la

[PDittie]

17. JFTR

I'm no fan of Hillary's but what pisses me off exactly is Kos delivering his judgment like it's the Gospel. Obama probably did make a critical error, but Kos is throwing gasoline on it.

And I REALLY don't like him trashing Dean. That was the cheapest of shots.

edit: typo in subject line

[mondo joe]

19. Kos doesn't have magical powers. If people want to listen to him, it's

because they want to.

[gateley]

21. He makes a good point about people not "hating" Hillary like they thought

they would.

I just assumed (for no reason I can discern) that I wouldn't like Hillary, I'd love Obama, and Edwards would continue to irritate me as he did when he ran with Kerry.

To my surprise, I liked Hillary, warmed to Edwards and was underwhelmed by Obama.

I doubt I'm the only one who's pre-conceived notions were altered.

[Larkspur]

23. I still don't like Hillary

She hasn't convince me to vote for her.

I'm not enthralled with any of the Dem Prez candidates. I've very unenthusiastic about 2008.

[gateley]

24. You've got a lot of company! nt

[peace frog]

22. I can't disagree

with anything he says in this post: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/29/155750/64
And she's not my first, second or third choice, either.