Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Negative Ads Work. We Have Work To Do.

Democrats are hand wringers, we are.

Many want to win so bad that every tick, tip; view of a poll gets everyone going.

Me, I don't care about the horserace, which is for the cable desk clerks.

I care about the state polling, which is still soft now, and the ground game.

This is what won Obama the Democratic Nomination, it will bolster him across the final line, but we cannot continue to have these negative ads go unanswered or unchallenged.

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When the McCain "celebrity ads" previewed, it was a shock. Yes, a shock that he got free air time on frivolous ads. But when a big ad buy was done in battleground states, all we could do is the wait and see game.

Well, it has helped McCain. It has tarnished Barack, some in the polling, but it has kept McCain in the game.

John McCain will only win this election by destroying the character of Barack Obama or putting such a doubt about him that people will go to the "name they know". This is a dangerous strategy. We don't know how it will play out and this is not 2004. But it is the only strategy they have to play.

It is our job, yes, job to push back and push the narrative of Barack Obama. But it is even more so the job of the Obama Campaign to come out with hard hitting ads to defuse or debunk this.

The Obama Campaign has been slow in the saddle. You cannot let the framing sit out there unanswered. Sorry, you can't. The response must be cut and dry, no nuance, shoot down what is wrong and correct it with what is right.

The public is dumb. Yes, dumber than a box of rocks. Why? The public don't follow the policies of these candidates, but they grab hold to an ad or sound bite. They get their information in passing or what they hear. They are idiots in a box. They believe bullshit emails that are totally wrong. If this is not corrected, what should the public think? Even though the McCain ads are totally WRONG, they are sticking and you are seeing it show up in the polls.

McCain is running the second half of the Hillary Clinton campaign only stronger. One thing I admired about Clinton in the second half of the campaign was her grit. She stood up and let folks know that "SHE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU". If Barack Obama does not do this with fervor, he won't win this. McCain is already doing this.

Attacks. Barack Obama must seal the deal with the public. WE WANT CHANGE. HELL YEAH, WE DO. But you don't change ANYTHING until you fight for the change you want. It means rolling up your sleeves and fighting for this election. Yes, sitting above the fray works to a point, but when you are being attacked and singing "swan songs" who is listening? These low information voters are not paying attention to the song; they are looking to see who will win the FIGHT. We are a country of winners and losers. That is just how it is.

VP Candidate. Yes, some say he needs an attack dog. I am still up in the air on that. One thing Obama has been consistent on is doing things HIS WAY and most of the time it WORKED. For him to pick a Washington, DC insider, one that the cable desk clerks have a relationship with to get INFORMATION, is just not the Obama Way. He has run an exemplary tight ship, with no drama. He has run outside of Washington. So, to bring an insider to the team is not Obama. Sorry it is not. Anyway, the VP can attack, but he cannot carry the whole pail. He/she is limited to how much they can attack, in the end Obama has to seal the deal not the VP. This is something the Obama Campaign needs to figure out.

Lastly, I want to see every single frickin' Democrat of importance on the tear on McCain and the GOP. Why they have been held back, I do not know, but I want to see them out there in FULL FORCE after the convention. This includes the Clintons. Whatever differences there are, time to put it in a bottle and uncork later. We have an election to win and all DEMOCRATS ON DECK.

I trust the Obama Campaign. This campaign has gotten here by a miracle and that is us. But we must be Democrats with blinders OFF, not ON. We know the polling is close and we want to win. It means being realistic when things are going well and just as realistic when things are not so well. In the end, it will take hard work from all of us, together.

But keep the blinders OFF.

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