Thursday, August 21, 2008

Politics as a Blood Sport

So, here's the deal. Everybody knows what happened to Adlai Stevenson, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, and other Democrats who choose to remain above the fray. Street-fighting Republicans laid them low.

The polls right now indicate that Obama and McCain are essentially tied in the polls. By all rights, however, Obama should be ahead. He is not, and that is largely due to the relentless GOP attack machine that has been spurting crap all summer. I hope this smear campaign has delivered a wakeup call to the junior senator from Illinois. If not, his fate will be that of the pacifists listed above.

Americans do not want weak men, or those they perceive as weak, as head of state. They want street fighters, which is an indication of what a primitive nation this remains. In that context, to his credit, Obama has just now started to fight back against the GOP's smear tactics, and that is a very good thing for America.

I'm not a political consultant, but if I were, I'd advise my clients to fight fire with fire, and then, when our opponent was distracted, drop a PR nuclear bomb on him. I am exceptionally pleased to see the professorial Obama beginning to transform into a street fighter against McCain.

All summer, we've been forced to endure untrue racist/religious/hate-filled attacks against this moderate Christian Senator Obama from a Republican Party that has no positive message for voters -- so it has chosen to resort to gutter tactics.

When it comes to a street fight, personally I'd choose Obama's Chicago brothers, know what I mean?

McCain is so rich he doesn't even know how many houses he owns (7). His infidelities are so numerous that only due to the restraint of Democrats, has he avoided major embarrassments so far. Anybody remember the Keating S&L scandal? McCain's personal corruption is so vast that it would make Spiro Agnew blush.

On and on it goes. My advice, albeit unsolicited, to Obama is to take this dude straight on down at the level that he has chosen to fight you at. Confront him on the issue that you can only read about here, at Hotweir, about his family's racist past as slaveholders. That will destroy him, once and for all.

Don't feel guilty. Since McCain has sunk to the gutter, go down there and give him what he deserves.

An electoral vote whipping that will send McCain and his corrupt Republican Party back to where they deserve to be -- in the rear view mirror of the 21st Century -- is what our country desperately needs. So, go for it, Obama.

-30-

1 comment:

DanogramUSA said...

The majority of American voters will not support a liberal politician for president today. Obama has been the most liberal US Senator, even voting left of Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy. It is a matter of record, not argument.

Referring to Barak as “moderate” is rather immoderate of you, David.

Barak Obama looks good, sounds good and does well politically when carefully scripted. When he has been carefully groomed and “teleprompted” he has been a very compelling image, even for some Republican voters.

Race, religion, affiliation with questionable personalities – these are not the greatest hurdles for Obama in todays America. His primary weakness was on display at Saddleback, as you and I both observed at the time. Were it simply an anomaly from which he could recover, his numbers in the polls would show that by now. Even President Kennedy had his bad days.

Obama's greatest hurdle is his inability to be spontaneous and decisive absent a carefully choreographed presentation. This is not new; many perceptive folks, even some of liberal persuasion, have observed this for a long time. It is not an anomaly, it is a reflection of his missing personal resolve.

I recall the enormous excitement, including my own, when it briefly appeared that Colin Powell might run for president. It seemed then that the office was his for the taking. The allure of a candidate of color with an exceptionally bright mind, demonstrated personal discipline, a love for his country, and strong personal convictions, was, at least briefly, overwhelming. His decision not to run was a great disappointment for many at the time. At some level the vast majority of Americans today would cherish a non-white president, so tired are we of being labeled as racially prejudiced.

Here now is a tragedy in the making; with the Democrat Convention so close a great number of emotional followers of Obama are blind to his weakness as a candidate. Efforts to supplant him now will cause dangerous levels of frustration. Yet, fear of losing this election coupled with an unhealthy lust for power by some in the party will make the ugly prospect ever more likely in the coming days.

This is not wishful thinking, David. I cannot think of many easier candidates to defeat than Barak Obama in a presidential election, particularly in the face of 3 scheduled debates prior to the election. If my wish is to see the more conservative candidate win (and it is), then with the possible exception of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, William Jefferson, or Dennis Kucinich, Obama is my preferred opponent.