Campaign Shenanigans

As this election trudges forward both campaigns are trying tactics to subconsciously move the American electorate. The mark of a good campaign is employing these tactics as a part of larger strategies (and just to be clear Obama, tactics and strategies are different things). Be prepared to be inundated as we move ever closer to November, here is what the campaigns are going to try.

“Look If He’s Driving The Car, Get Off The Sidewalk”- This is what Obama’s communication guy, Robert Gibbs, said this morning about John McCain on Morning Joe. Do you think this phrase was picked by accident? The Obama campaign is doing their best to paint John McCain as a crazy old geezer who is going to recklessly destroy the country, until of course he dies after a few months in office and then were left with “the lipstick on a pig” Sarah Palin.

The Obama campaign is using Chicago thug tactics to paint McCain as unfit, and its not going to work. People know John McCain is old, but by talking about it and turning it into a blatant campaign partisan issue you are only hurting your own campaign. What you are doing is transparent and therefore silly. If it is this easy to see through your campaign tactics then you are not running a very good campaign.

Deliberately Downplaying Sarah Palin- I’m beginning to have a theory about Sarah Palin and why she has been doing a bit poorly in interviews, I think its by design. Look the reason the pundits thought Obama “won” the debate (which I think is nonsense) is because McCain “didn’t win it large enough”. I believe Joe Biden is going to have this very same problem.

Joe Biden is expected to wipe the floor with her in the debate, but I think the pundits will be in for a bit of a surprise. When McCain first unveiled Palin and she gave that great introductory speech followed by the terrific convention speech, she clearly wasn’t in a “underdog” position. If Sarah Palin delivers another convention style performance at the debate, Obama is toast, but in order to retain the maximum effect her expectations must be low. I think what has looked like a poor strategy on the outside, may in fact turn out to be genius by Friday. But this all depends on Governor Palin.

Final Thoughts- What is interesting me most right now are the undertones of the campaign, these stories are not talked about widely but have significant subconscious impact. While most bloggers and American’s are tuned into the bailout crisis, what I am most interested in is the political impact of events and it is too soon to judge who this bailout benefits. Expect a story from me on the impact of the bailout after the hype has died down. So now I leave it to you readers, I illustrated the subconscious tactics and strategies I’m seeing, what are you noticing? Until next time…

The Great Hype Of 2008

Last Friday night, the big debate. This was the debate that would make or break the candidates. Media pundits were saying how this is going to be “the most important debate ever.” Over 100 million people were supposedly going to be glued to their seats. One problem, less people watched this debate then the Bush/ Kerry first debate. Reading this in The Live Feed was a huge surprise for me, I mean, every media pundit has been going on about “how this is the most important election in our lifetime.” If people felt that way, wouldn’t more of them have watched? I mean were told by media pundits that Obama has so inspired the masses that this election he and his army of supporters are going to storm to the polls and take back the White House.

So my question is, if the country is so supercharged for Obama and “change” why does no one seem to be paying attention? The media has become drunk on their own hype, why don’t we bring them back down to earth for a moment.

The Polls Say Obama Is Going To Win…If Huge Numbers Of Democrats Vote- Look, lets cut through this area quickly because I have discussed these polls before. Most polls are weighted, heavily, democratic. The truth is, if Democratic voters outnumber Republican voters by heavy margins McCain is going to lose. Shocking isn’t it? We don’t need a poll to explain what is really quite obvious. Quick note to pollsters though, there has never been an election where Democrats outnumber Republicans on Election Day by 10 percent or more. So those of you out there, ahem ABC/ Washington Post pollsters , this is just wishful thinking on your part.

Old Folks Vs. Young Folks- The youth of America are going to win this for Obama; and if you believe that I have a bridge to sell you. The truth is this election is going to come down to who comes out to vote, baby boomers or college students. Do you want to guess who I am putting my money on? The fact is older Americans have the most at stake. People 45 and up, who are mostly McCain supporters, are the ones paying taxes and they are the main constituency who will feel the impact of an Obama or McCain presidency.

I predict it’s going to be 2004 all over again; the MTV crowd isn’t going to vote for Obama as big as he needs them too. Remember that ridiculous “Vote or Die” campaign targeted to the youth last election? I remember that didn’t work out so well for John Kerry. Maybe I’ll be wrong about this, but I don’t think so. The lack of interest in this first debate tells me that in this election, the same folks who watched and voted in the last election will be the same ones voting this time.

The Myth Of A Bad Economy= Democratic Victory- People vote based on the person, period. Who do they like? Who do they feel comfortable with? As these debates continue and McCain makes his case on the economic situation, I believe McCain can cut into Obama’s lead on the economic issues enough to win in November. If McCain starts running ads that label Obama as a radical tax increaser, then McCain will have this election in the bag. Every answer in the next two debates, I don’t care what the question is, needs to paint the picture of Obama as a “tax and spend liberal.” That’s how McCain, if he does it, will win.

Final Thoughts- If this is truly a “transformational election” the likes of which we have never seen, fine, I will cheerfully admit to being wrong and eat crow diligently. But there is something going on out there I think the media is missing. I think there is anger over this “bailout bill” and I think the public is frankly sick of both candidates.

Senator Obama has shown himself to be just a politician, and when you are relying on the support of idealistic youth, this is the worst thing that can happen to you. The only person who benefits from dampened enthusiasm is McCain. Unless Obama starts pulling away and recapturing some of the magic of the primaries, I believe McCain is going to win by default.

One quick caveat I would like to mention, and I will discuss this in greater detail at a later date, if Sarah Palin blows the debate this week it is over. I like Sarah, I am rooting for her, but she needs to get better in public. I don’t think Sarah Palin can win the election for McCain, but she might lose it for him if she doesn’t learn a lesson from her interviews and get better prepared. It looks like shes headed for debate camp this week and that is excellent news because, frankly, she needs it. These are just my opinions though, what do you think? I encourage comments and discussions but please keep it civil. Until next time…

Sunday Reads

Today is a family day for me, but there are some great stories out there today I wanted to link to.

Bailout Plan Finalized- More on this on Monday, but it looks like the House Republicans can claim victory, a lot of Democratic pork was taken out of this bill. Full details at HotAir.

Family Did Not Want Obama To Wear Sons Bracelet- During the debate Obama, after forgetting the soldiers name, trumpeted his bracelet as a tribute to a fallen soldier. One problem, the family doesn’t want him wearing it. More on this at NewsBusters.

SNL On Sarah Palin- It was very funny stuff. I am hoping that this week there is solid debate prep for her. I like her like everyone else does, but man was that Katie Couric interview bad. HotAir has the SNL parody.

Liberalism Is Ruining Archaeology- London Locke over at Trunk Report has a very interstig story about Liberalism’s affect on destroying archaeology. It’s a bit different from the kind of articles I post so be sure to check him out.

On The Lighter Side, How About Some Football?- Scott Martin has a great Football blog Smart Plays which is perfect for all of you football fans, especially those of you who bet on the games. If you are looking for something lighter be sure to check it out.

Final Thoughts- I hope everyone likes the stories and I will be back tomorrow with an original post on the current state of the election. Have a great Sunday everyone!

Round One McCain

First let me say how much fun I had over at the Patriot Room Blog, it was a great time discussing the debate with my fellow bloggers. Before I give you my opinion on why McCain won, its important for you to know that I am not saying this to cheer lead “our guy.” If Obama would have won tonight I would have said so, I would have started the death march for the McCain camp because I will always be honest and give you my real opinion. Lets talk about why he won tonight:

McCain Took Control Of The Debate- From the first question on McCain set the rhythm and the tone of the debate. He was calm but forceful and never let Obama get away with his talking points. Obama on the other hand looked angry, nervous and smug and struggled through his answers. This was an embarrassment for Obama, from beginning to end.

Jim Lehrer Let The Candidates Debate Freely- This benefited McCain, he wasn’t restricted in calling out Obama for his “naiveté.” Obama seemed unsure of himself and frankly didn’t seem to know the issues, especially foreign policy. McCain came to play tonight and seemed to revel in the fight. He took it to Obama frequently and forced Obama off of his game. Obama had three days devoted to debate prep, but I guess that wasn’t enough.

“ I Agree With John”- The smart folks over at the McCain camp already have an new ad out that illustrates how many times Obama agreed with McCain. Look, this is politics 101, you don’t agree with your opponent especially when he is saying you are “naïve” and that “he doesn’t understand.” This ad is going to play often and even the crew at the liberal MSNBC thought he blew it by saying that so much. Chris Mathews went so far as to call it “Nixonian” because he compared what happened tonight with what happened between Kennedy and Nixon. Nixon conceded many points to Kennedy, and he lost. It is not tough to see the parallel here.

Final Thoughts- You all watched this debate so I want to know what you think because you are the people that matter. The mainstream media is trying to paint tonight as an Obama win, even conservative commentators are saying this, but they are wrong. Tonight is an example of why I became a blogger in the first place. I know what I saw. The politico’s, even the conservative ones, don’t have a clue. Now that I told you my opinion, what do you think?

Tonight’s Debate

Just wanted to give an FYI for tonight’s debate, I will be over at Bill Dupray’s site The Patriot Room blogging about the debate as it happens. After the debate I will be posting my analysis back on this site to sum up the evening. So if you have some time and want to make comments and follow along, head on over at 8:45 Eastern time. I’ll see you guys there!

Tonight’s Debate

Just wanted to give an FYI for tonight’s debate, I will be over at Bill Dupray’s site The Patriot Room blogging about the debate as it happens. After the debate I will be posting my analysis back on this site to sum up the evening. So if you have some time and want to make comments and follow along, head on over at 8:45 Eastern time. I’ll see you guys there!

Tick, Tock

So it looks like the Paulson bailout deal is all but dead and the prospects of tonight’s debate are becoming dubious, though still likely. Even though things are looking bad as of this morning, I believe a bill of some sort will be framed out today. But lets not kid ourselves, the clock is ticking and what happens over the next 24 hours will have great impact on the campaign. To win the American people over and gain their trust, here is what needs to happen today:

Pass Something Already- The Paulson plan is not going to pass because house republicans hate it. That’ s fine, in fact most people agree with the republicans. The Paulson Bill is bloated and wasteful, but what is the alternative? My message to house republicans is this; you had better have an alternative bill that can pass. The democrats, every day this bill does not pass, are going to blame McCain and the GOP. McCain went to Washington to demonstrate he can work with both parties to get something done, so help him out a bit. One final thought on this topic for the house GOP, if you think this bill is outrageous and bloated, just wait until a President Obama is in office and he submits his first budget. What you are doing today will have a large impact on the election and I would humbly submit that maybe getting everything you want on this bill isn’t worth losing the election. Just think about it.

McCain Can’t Lose Face, But He Has To Debate- This is a very precarious day for McCain because he needs to accomplish two things; sticking to his word, but also attending the debate. According to Survey USA 74 percent of the American people want a debate tonight, he needs to debate tonight. A framework of a bailout bill has to be done today and hopefully done by early afternoon so McCain can justify attending the debate tonight. The House GOP has quite a bit of power today and I hope they use it wisely. If McCain shows up tonight and the bill isn’t finished he will look like a liar. On the flipside if he keeps to his word the democrats will accuse him of being a coward. Bottom line, that bill has got to get done today for McCain’s sake.

Debate Advice- I believe the debate ultimately will happen this evening and I think McCain has a big opportunity to take this election and start running away with it if he does the following:

• Pithy Answers- Let Obama sound like a gasbag, use the Saddleback Debate as a guide and keep it crisp.

• Control Temper- Be passionate but take it easy, don’t start glaring and getting fidgety in your chair.

• “My Friends”- This is a statement that just needs to die already, you sound very tense when you say it and it’s a verbal crutch you need to get over.

• Engage- Do not let him get away with anything, forget the moderators, they are not on your side anyways. If he lies about you or your record go after him, interrupt him if necessary.

• It’s The Democrats, Stupid- Whatever problems the moderator mentions, you take it and put a democratic stamp on it. Do not throw Bush under the bus this isn’t about him. Go after your real enemies for once and draw clear differences.

Final Thoughts- This is the big night tonight, after all the pre election season garbage the big game is finally starting. If McCain nails his points in the next 24 hours, gets this bailout bill ready to go and starts taking it to Obama then this race is pretty much over. If this next 24-hour period goes terribly wrong… well, I don’t want to think about that. Until tomorrow…

High Noon In Washington

Today both presidential candidates are going to Washington to try and get an economic bailout that will actually pass. Events in Washington today will determine if we even have a debate on Friday. Yesterday, McCain made a bold but risky move by suspending his campaign in order to deal with the financial crisis. It was a grown up decision, but we don’t know yet if it was smart politically. President Bush helped McCain when he stepped in and invited both candidates to Washington. This allowed McCain to look ahead of the curve but it also allowed Obama to save face. As we lead into the debates, here is what needs to be accomplished today:

Get This Bill Done- This bill needs to be fixed and passed today. Wall Street needs to be assured that the Government is going to save them or we are going to keep having these record falls on Wall Street. Now I know some very smart conservatives are opposed to the whole concept of this bill, but as Americans look at their 401Ks I guarantee they are soon going to join the chorus for a bailout. Like I said yesterday, none of us like this bill, but it has to pass.

Let Sarah Out Of Her Cage- Look McCain camp, I understand you want to save her for the debates, but that strategy has to change. This is a very serious time and people are looking to be assured and have their questions answered by her. Let her make a new speech and get out in front with McCain. If McCain is in Washington today suspending his campaign, she needs to be out making the case. If the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates get delayed, she needs to be out sooner rather then later.

Final Thoughts- This is the moment, from today forward, that the American people are going to start hanging on every word. Whoever looks most Presidential in the crisis wins, period. Starting today McCain needs to eat and breathe the economy and aggressively take the lead. If the bill doesn’t pass tonight, don’t leave; stay until it does even if you take the hit for delaying the debate. People will remember who acted in this crisis and who just reacted. The election, Mr. McCain, is entirely in your hands. What you do today and tomorrow will matter more then any ad. Stay tuned things are getting interesting….

McCain Takes A Stand

John McCain is a genius. I am sitting here laughing at the brilliance of this move to force Obama to make a decision when it comes to the economic bailout bill. For those of you who do not know, here is the big news of the day via Drudge Report

McCain Suspends Campaign To Focus On Economy; Wants Debate Delay

How brilliantly smart is this? This is a message to those swing voters out there that there is only one grownup in this election and it is not Obama. Now the Obama folks are trying to put out the spin that McCain is trying to duck the debate. Oh yeah Obama camp, McCain is scared of a foreign policy debate. That will sell to the American people.

Final Thought- With the President speaking tonight and McCain off to Washington, the Republicans are finally taking leadership on this bill and putting as McCain would say “Country First.” The American people will take notice, stay tuned for the ensuing nose dive for the Obama campaign poll numbers..

Conservative Panic

Perspective. This is a very important word especially in this election. Can I go out on a limb and say something here? Nothing matters yet. From a purely political point of view polls, campaign ads and economic fears do not matter politically yet. After Friday, everything will matter. Conservative journalists are having a collective panic attack over Obama’s rising in the polls, this idiotic economic bailout and McCain’s lack of leadership. Lets break it down from a political perspective so we can all calm down a bit.

Obama’s “Rising”- Can I be absolutely frank? I find the current polls, especially the Washington Post Poll, to be nonsense. This poll in particular shows Obama leading McCain 52 percent to 43 percent. Not to be too snarky about this, but please. It is an embarrassingly tiny sample with only 1, 082 voters over an entire week!

The Gallup Poll interviews 1000 people daily and their daily tracking poll show Obama 47 and McCain 44. This poll shows that McCain is closing the gap with Obama, but again it really doesn’t matter at this point.

A Yahoo Poll shows that 18 percent of people are undecided. So what does this mean? Nothing, these polls are garbage right now so don’t waste your time. Mid next week, after people have digested the debates, we will see where this election is headed.

Economic Bailout- This bill is a bloated disgrace, but some form of this thing is going to pass and it needs to. From a purely political perspective, keeping my own conservative disgust of this bill out of it, this bill needs to pass and soon. We do not have the time during this election season to hedge and relinquish this issue to the Democrats. The FBI is looking into the collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and this is great news, because I think some of our Democratic congressmen are going to be caught in that net.

In the meantime, we have to fix this thing now, even if it is only a band-aid. Let’s get this issue off the table, pass the bill, elect John McCain in the fall and allow him and Sarah Palin to start cutting the size of government. This is a weird situation we are in, but we have to think long term, so lets get that stock market back up and these headlines off the papers.

McCain’s Lack Of Leadership- Here is the thing about politicians, and yes McCain is one, they want to get elected. McCain has to dance around this economic bailout issue for the same reason the rest of us have to. We hate the economic bailout bill on principle, but we are more fearful of what will happen if we don’t do it. McCain hates pork barrel spending, like we all do, but how do you ignore the Treasury Secretary? McCain needs to make a decision quickly and then start hammering Obama daily and pressure him to come to Washington and vote on the issue. Will Obama show up to vote on the bill? Will he actually DO something instead of talk? We shall see, but I would guess not.

Final Thoughts- The bottom line folks is we are just going to have to hang in a bit. This bill is going to pass, we are not going to like it and the media is going to have a great time releasing polls every two seconds trying to depress the Republican vote. Stop worrying, this is still preseason and it does not start counting until Friday. It’s a foreign policy debate Friday, McCain is going to wipe the floor with this guy and you are going to see movement similar to what happened after the convention. Just hang in and don’t buy into what you read. Until tomorrow…