Fort Report: The Source Blog

Campaign Like It's 1992

2008-09-17T05:50:00-07:00

No reason to re- create the wheel.

No reason to make a new playbook or decide it’s time to think outside the box for something new.

The key to Obama’s victory in 2008 is to campaign like it’s 1992.

Forget Sarah Palin and whether she wants to ban books or whether her entire foreign policy experience comes from seeing Russia from Alaska. Don’t get dragged into the which pig has lipstick and which one doesn’t.

This plays right into Republican hands. They want an issue-less campaign.

And to win, Democrats don’t need to talk about a bunch of issues – they just need a campaign focused on a single issue.

Just like 1992.

It’s the economy, stupid.

And Wall Street’s doing all it can to help. We’re walking as close to a financial meltdown as we have in decades. Voters may not understand the intricacies but they get that we’re in dangerous territory – territory brought on by failed Bush/McCain economic policies.

They get it because they’re hurting. Gas prices are up, food prices are up, and wages are down. Credit is tougher to get, jobs are tougher to get, and houses are more difficult to keep.

Why look for something else to talk about?

The next 48 days should be about the economy. About who understands what’s going on and who can do something about it.

It should be 1992 all over again

And that was a pretty good year.

No Free Passes

2008-09-11T16:40:00-07:00

The Republican strategy appears to be to make it unacceptable to ask Sarah Palin the challenging questions that should be asked anyone seeking national office. That is all any of us need to know to be certain that she should not under any circumstances be allowed near the oval office.

How can it be that a person on a national ticket has to be kept from answering questions? And asking the tough questions is the only responsible thing to do.

If candidates cannot answer them, then we learn what we need to know – or what we should need to know. In Palin’s case, it seems her unwillingness or inability to show command of the issues of the day has not hurt her.

In time it should.

If Hillary Clinton were the Democratic vice presidential candidate, would she be expected to answer questions and demonstrate an acceptable breadth of knowledge that should precede taking the oath of office?

Of course she would.

So why not Palin?

Yes, has agreed to one interview. One. And when is the next one? No idea.

If I were Palin, I’d never have accepted the offer from McCain if I thought I had to hide from scrutiny.

Then again, if I’d only been out of the country once, I probably wouldn’t think I was qualified.

Or if I had made women rape victims pay for their own forensic rape kits, I probably wouldn’t think I was qualified.

And if my only foreign policy experience consisted of living in state near Russia…well, you get the picture.

This election is too important to have it decided on issues that don’t matter. We have big problems and we need serious people to solve them.

We need to know much more about Sarah Palin to know if she has what it takes.

And if she continues to refuse to answer the tough questions? Well, that tells us all we need to know.

Did She Do Enough?

2008-08-27T05:54:00-07:00

Rarely is one night of a convention handed over to the runner-up.

For “catharsis.”

Last night, Hillary Clinton said all the right words and sounded all the right notes. But will it make a difference?

On the Monday before the Convention, I was on a talk show panel previewing the Democratic Convention. Caller after caller to the program were angry Hillary voters who said they would vote for McCain. When pushed, they had no rational reason, other than that Hillary lost, very much like the pro-choice Hillary supporter the McCain team put on television.

McCain’s team brought a self-professed “proud Hillary Clinton Democrat” to Denver for the convention so that she could profess her support for McCain at a press event. But then when asked how as a pro-choice woman she could support someone who wanted to take away a woman’s right to choose, she insisted that McCain does not want to overturn Roe v. Wade, completely contrary to the position McCain has taken in this campaign.

So did Hillary do enough last night?

Time will tell.

Her speech brought the proper focus – this election is about four more years of Bush-McCain. With this focus, most of those Hillary voters will come home. But the time and money spent bringing them home is energy and resources the Obama team would much rather spend elsewhere.

But there’s also still another part to this story: President Clinton speaks tonight. And his remarks will be watched as closely as were hers. During the primary, it was often his discordant voice that created rifts between the two candidates and campaigns

His speech is unlikely to directly confront President Bush; what he does say will either continue the drive toward unity or blockade it.

Who Should Be the Focus in Denver?

2008-08-25T05:49:00-07:00

The most immediate polling following the selection of Senator Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate showed no bump for the new ticket, but that should not be a surprise.

Right now, this election is all about one man: Barack Obama.

And for the Obama campaign to leave Denver on a wave and win in November, this election must be about another man: President George W Bush.

In 2004, then Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry and his team decided to have a positive convention, with no attacks on President Bush.

The Obama campaign should not make that same mistake.

Following the positive Kerry Convention, the Republicans spent their four nights pounding John Kerry,

McCain plans to do the same. Obama must beat him to the punch.

And for this convention, that means putting the spotlight on President Bush and putting John McCain in that spotlight with him.

Certainly, this convention is an opportunity for the American voters to learn more about Barack Obama – to better understand who he is, what he values and more specifics about what he wants to do.

But more important than that, the Democratic convention must spend as much time defining John McCain as it does Barack Obama. And by the end of Thursday night, when Obama gives his acceptance speech on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech, American voters must be both more comfortable with Barack Obama and more uncomfortable with John McCain.

And that discomfort must come from joining Bush and McCain at the hip.

With all eyes on Denver, this is too significant an opportunity for the Obama team to mistakenly walk the Kerry convention path,

This convention cannot be just about Barack Obama. It must be the introduction of a two-headed Republican – McCain/Bush.

So who is the elitist?

2008-08-22T07:08:00-07:00

The fact that Senator John McCain has no idea how many homes he owns certainly does undermine his continued attempt to play the “elitist” card against Senator Obama.

This sounds like one of those Jeff Foxworthy jokes – you might be an elitist if…

And if you don’t know how many homes you have, then write it down: you’re the elitist.

And by the way the answer is apparently seven. McCain has seven homes,

But as good as that moment was for the Obama team, it was just another example of how removed we are from the issues that matter.

Do we really care how many homes someone has?

Interesting, sure.

And it makes a point, yes.

But more important than, say, the housing crisis or health care for 45-million uninsured?

Hardly.

Consider where the rest of the news day went. The McCain campaign brought up Senator Obama’s relationship with Tony Rezko, a convicted felon. Then the Obama team responded with McCain’s ties to that oldie but goodie, the Keating Five scandal.

Great theater, great politics, and a great example of the Obama campaign’s rapid response team, but nonetheless, it was a news cycle completely removed from the issues that matter.

Now, in an election campaign, it’s not always about the issues that matter. It’s about the issues that move voters and can win elections. And that means, undoubtedly there’s a whole lot more of this coming, especially from Team McCain. It’s certainly become clear from its early tone that they’ve come to the conclusion that the only chance they have is to win this is somewhere way to the side of the high road.

And that’s going to make for a campaign that is spent more on personal issues than on the issues that matter,

But hopefully, in this election, there will be just enough discussion of the real issues that voters can make a decision to vote for one of the candidates, not just against the other.

But in this round of back and forth, score this one for Obama.

Signs from a Sinking Ship

2008-08-03T05:38:00-07:00

Permission is granted for Republicans to abandon McCain’s sinking ship.

Sometimes there are hints of trouble that become obvious only in retrospect. But sometimes there are sirens and waving red flags that make it clear trouble is not just impending, it’s already here. What you are hearing are those sirens.

The steady stream of negative attack ads coming from McCain Central leaves little doubt that the McCain folks are already desperate – and it’s not even August.

So much for having anything positive to say. So much for having answers to the country’s pressing problems. McCain’s strategy has already deteriorated in to widespread mud slinging, hoping something sticks. He is now questioning whether Obama is prepared to lead.

This from the man who didn’t even know that Czechoslovakia isn’t a country anymore; and even after having advisors explain that to him, once again spoke of the now non-existent nation.

The same man who had to have Senator Lieberman whisper in his ear the difference between Sunnis and Shiites during a trip to the Middle East.

Who’s prepared to lead? That doesn’t sound like a question McCain should be asking.

Compare the two candidates most recent foreign trips…

McCain had barely left U.S. soil before he demonstrated the huge gaps in his much-touted foreign policy credentials. Since then he has continued to stumble over even the most basic facts about world affairs and simple geography

But Obama? His trip has been criticized for being too successful.

At a time when world opinion of the US is at an all-time low thanks to the policies of Bush and McCain, Obama was embraced around the world. In Germany, a crowd of more than 200,000 turned out.

And the Republicans contend that was a bad thing.

That claim is one of those red flags.

Contending it’s bad for the U.S. when the people of other nations rally behind a U.S. leader and express hope that our nation can regain its moral standing in the world – that is spin that falls completely flat.

So Republicans, feel free to abandon ship. The USS McCain is taking on water.

No Room for This Name on the Short List

2008-07-14T11:53:00-07:00

When Senator Obama decided to ask Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to accompany him on his upcoming trip to Iraq, talk began that Hagel might be on Obama’s VP short list.

Each cycle there seems to be speculation that one of the candidates might break the rules and reach across the aisle for a bi-partisan ticket; there was such speculation in 2004 suggesting John Kerry would consider John McCain.

But this year, as Senator Obama shortens his list, Senator Hagel shouldn’t be on it.

If he wants to fuel media speculation, if he wants to encourage headlines that he’s considering a bi-partisan ticket, that’s one thing. But to actually consider Hagel would be a slap to the change coalition he’s put together.

Yes, Senator Hagel has foreign policy credentials, and yes, he’s been willing to buck his party on the Iraq war.

But here’s a few other things we need to remember about Senator Hagel:

He has a 100% National Right to Life and Christian Coalition rating.

He’s against expanding embryonic stem cell research.

He’s voted against expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.

He’s voted to keep tax subsidies for companies moving jobs off shore.

He’s voted against background checks for gun purchases at gun shows.

And he voted to confirm Justices Alito and Roberts.

If there is any speculation about Senator Hagel joining Obama on the ticket, it should go no further.

Trust Takes Time

2008-07-11T06:18:00-07:00

Obama is moving to the right, like many before him.

Shading positions, shifting, parsing – all in an effort to expand a coalition that his campaign team now worries is insufficient to win the general election. And with this repositioning has come some grumbling from his base, raising questions whether he has sealed the deal with his base enough to be able to move toward the center without it splintering.

Undoubtedly, the base coalition will be confused by Obama talking of the need to move away from the policies of President Bush and the Senator, then embracing an expansion of faith-based programs and casting a vote in support of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a bill giving immunity to telecommunications companies for assisting the administration in warrantless wiretapping.

Reverend Jesse Jackson’s recent comments about Senator Obama, while incredibly foolish and certainly reflective of Jackson’s bruised ego for now being pushing from the spotlight, are also an indication that there is growing frustration within Obama’s base. Frustration that Obama would be wise to consider.

For a candidate new to the national scene, one of Obama’s major challenges is providing the nation an opportunity to know him. His relationship with voters is still in development, and it is this relationship, not just policy positions, that will determine whether he becomes the next President.

Implicit in that relationship is trust: trust that voters know who he is and understand what he believes.

Trust takes time. And while Senator Obama’s base is enthusiastic and motivated, it is also still developing a relationship with him. This general election repositioning is going to test that relationship.

As Obama’s team puts together its general election strategy, it would do well not to forget those who brought them this far.

There is always a tendency in politics to want to be all things to all people. But in a “change” election, people want a candidate who speaks truth to power, who shows the strength to go in a different direction.

And most importantly, a candidate who takes a position and keeps it.

Senator Obama is still building an incredible national coalition, one that can change our broken politics. But it will only succeed if he does not barter off too much of the good will he has developed in his efforts to grow that coalition.

Let me get this straight…

2008-06-27T07:17:00-07:00

John McCain, Mitt Romney and Karl Rove are all on the campaign trail, on message, redefining McCain and pounding on Senator Obama.

And the Democrats?

Still trying to come together.

In a symbolic gesture, Senator Obama gave Senator Clinton a campaign contribution to help in the retirement of her more than $20 million dollar debt.

Debt, remember, that she incurred while undermining Obama.

Debt she incurred while attempting to turn working-class white voters against Obama.

Debt she incurred attacking Obama’s leadership qualifications.

Half of this debt is money she loaned her campaign when the writing was already on the wall. By then, she had no real path to the nomination, but still chose to continue loaning herself money and working to undermine our eventual nominee.

And now she wants Obama and his nationwide network to retire her debt to ensure her vigorous support of his campaign?

Did I miss McCain’s checks to Huckabee and Romney?

Did I miss the unity efforts the Republicans undertook to ensure that Huckabee and Romney voters would fall behind McCain?

At a time when the Republicans are working as a team, reading from the same page, the Democrats are losing time and wasting energy still trying to come together.

Still some Clinton voters say they’ll sit November out, or worse, vote for McCain – even though his first appointment to the Supreme Court would guarantee more decisions like the one handed down yesterday overturning nearly all of D.C.’s firearm restrictions. We’ll watch the nation roll backward on issues from choice to affirmative action – the very result many Clinton supporters have spent decades fighting to prevent.

And these are the same people that would be outraged if Obama had lost, and his supporters had threatened to sit out the general election.

Same Old Tired Thinking

2008-06-17T17:38:00-07:00

If there’s anything we’ve learned about the 2008 presidential election cycle, it’s that this year it’s about Change.

So why is John McCain still peddling the same old tired thinking that has landed our country in this economic quagmire?

While Senator Obama and most of the nation is looking forward, Senator McCain is most definitely looking backward. His suggestion this week that states should be allowed to reconsider offshore oil drilling is the perfect example that McCain just doesn’t get it. The nation has moved beyond the “we can drill our way out of this situation” thinking.

All of us, except McCain and the oil companies that is.

At the time when we need leadership that will commit us to developing alternative energy sources, leadership that will invest in and jump start the next technological revolution, McCain has offered us proof that his administration would be just more of the same.

Under McCain, Big Oil lobbyists would still be writing national energy policy. No one else wants to open up offshore oil drilling where doing so would not benefit consumers or have any effect on world oil supply or prices. The only beneficiaries of offshore drilling are Big Oil CEOs.

Sound familiar? Yes, the same folks who brought us $4 a gallon gasoline. The same people who have been running the store the past seven years under President Bush,

And McCain doesn’t see any need for change. He’d rather drill than invest. He’d rather listen to the oil companies than to us.

In 2008, when voters come to the fork in the road, they can choose to take a new path with Obama or continue down the same one with McCain.

With more pronouncements like this one, McCain is going to be on a lonely path.