Time Magazine's Mark Halperin voices our concerns about what Barack faces if he gets the nomination. We hate to keep asking questions or being negative in the face of such innocent joy, and unbridled passion, but we've never seen a so-called "inspirational campaign" work on the national level, at least not since 1960,when circumstances and the political environment were much different.
While Clinton is deemed a mean and dismissive for nearly any criticism of Obama, Republicans will have no such restrictions.
We're afraid that this "Barack, the Magic Negro" business will effervesce after a fine-tuned avalanche of shit.
As analysis, not advice, Halperin offers this:
"The McCain campaign is staffed with savvy, experienced operatives
who have closely watched the rise of Obama, and they have learned from
Clinton’s failure to take down her Democratic rival."
Things McCain can do when running against Obama that Clinton has been unable to do well or at all:
1. Play the national security card without hesitation.
2. Talk about the Iraq War without apologies or perceived contradiction.
3. Go at Obama unambiguously from the right.
4. Encourage interest groups, bloggers, and right-leaning media to explore Obama’s past.
5. Make an issue of Obama’s acknowledged drug use.
6. Allow some supporters to risk being accused of using the race card when criticizing Obama.
7. Exploit Michelle Obama’s mistakes and address her controversial remarks with unrestricted censure.
8. Play dirty without alienating his party.
9. Dismiss Obama’s brief national tenure from his own lofty platform
of decades in the Senate – there will be no ambiguity about who has
more experience as conventionally defined.
10. Use his sterling war record to reinforce his image of patriotism and valor – and contrast it with his opponent’s.
11. Emphasize Barack Hussein Obama’s unusual name and exotic background through a Manchurian Candidate prism.
12. Employ third party groups like the NRA to hit Obama on issues
that might turn off general election voters. Perhaps an ad such as this
will run in Ohio: “So, what do you really know about Barack Obama? Did
you know he supports meeting with the head of terrorist states? Do you
know he wants to get rid of your right to own a handgun? Do you know he
is calling for the repeal of the law preventing gay marriage? Do you
know he is for a trillion-dollar tax increase? What do you really know
about Barack Obama?”
13. Face an electorate less consumed with “change change change”
(the main priority for Democratic voters) and keenly interested in
“ready from day one” as an equally important ideal.
14. Link biography (experience/courage) and leadership (straight
talk) to a vision animated by detail – accentuating Obama’s relative
lack of specificity.
15. Give Obama his first real race against a credible Republican.
(Clinton has always asserted that Obama would wilt before a fierce
Republican assault.)
16. Confront Obama with a united, focused campaign absent of second-guessing, which hits the same themes and message every day.
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