Jennifer Rubin looks at Barack Obama's recent trifecta of gaffes (the dishonest flipflop on public campaign financing, the recklessly hubristic "Great Seal" nonsense, and finally the blatant playing of the race card), and sees a genuine opportunity for McCain:
Will these incidents have a lasting impact on the race? That depends on how effectively McCain's team can make the point that these incidents relate to a larger picture - a candidate falsely wearing the clothes of a game-changing reformer who is merely a bare-knuckle pol, and a not very experienced or knowledgeable one at that.
If McCain can do that, and more importantly, if the media re-adjusts their outlook to cover Obama as they would any ordinary politician, the result may be significant and the race more competitive than only the most optimistic Republicans thought possible.
Read it all.
Timing is everything, though. McCain can exploit the hell out of these issues right now, but a lift in the polls right now (no matter how dramatic) won't matter in November. Things change quickly, and while Obama is still very green (and his ineptitude is very apparent right now), he has shown that he's a very fast study.
The question becomes who will remember in November? And what will they remember? Obama's gaffes?
Or "issues" like the "right wing" persecution of his wife?
The attacks on Michelle Obama are reminiscent of the assaults that a lot of black women face at some point in their lives.
This case is worse than usual because it is a direct statement that no matter what we do - graduate from good colleges, give of ourselves to the community, work hard for professional accomplishment, raise our children to be good people, support our husbands in running for high office - it doesn't matter to some people.
The message these attacks send is this: You are not fit to be a lady, much less the first lady; we will not acknowledge your marriage, your family or your culture. We can "joke" about lynching you and then turn around and accuse you of being racist against us. We will condemn you for everything - and nothing at all.
The Obama campaign is counting on the principle of backlash against "right wing" attacks. I think it might turn out to be so important that it will be the backbone of the campaign.
Whatever gaffes Obama and his wife commit (and there will be many more), these will generate criticism. While some of the criticism will be fully justified and coming from the MSM (as Jennifer Rubin demonstrates), it is inevitable that some of it will be over-the-top, and in any event it will be spun that way. Thus, Obama's gaffes, by opening him to criticism, also are opportunities for his campaign to skillfully play the victim/backlash game.
All he needs to do is trot out his well-worn line that "Americans are tired of this kind of politics."
As to what will resonate most when tired voters become exhausted, I can't predict that far ahead.
MORE: Speaking of tired, I know I'm tired of spending a small fortune on gas just so I can drive to New Jersey, but that's what I'm doing for the rest of the day.
posted by Eric on 06.23.08 at 10:24 AM
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Comments
The most well-worn tool in the Democratic attack machine is whining about the Republican attack machine.
I do have to wonder, though, if people will catch on to the fact that the Obama crew is jumping the gun and complaining about attacks that haven't happened.
tim maguire · June 23, 2008 11:02 AM
It was Bill Clinton who moaned about the "politics of personal destruction" while bringing it to a high art. Did Democrats get it then? No - though some of them got it this year, finally.
Progressives have a personal emotional stake in having their sort of person elected, regardless of that person's individual merit. Whether the Obamas are worthy is immaterial. On the left, it is all Hatfields and McCoys, Yorks and Lancasters: clan is everything. Every criticism of their candidates is perceived as a threat to their right to rule.
For most progressives, this is not a hard-edged calculation, but a self-deception that they are nice, reasonable people who are being thoughtful. They really do not see that clan is 100% predictive of their behavior. It would be too painful to acknowledge, because so much of their lives (career choices, number of children, religious practice) is tied up with the clan.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
The most well-worn tool in the Democratic attack machine is whining about the Republican attack machine.
I do have to wonder, though, if people will catch on to the fact that the Obama crew is jumping the gun and complaining about attacks that haven't happened.