Al Giordano is the type of blogger who has me nodding my head through his every post.
Let me be clear, I am surrounded by Hillary supporters who seem to delight in every Obama “misstep”. It doesn’t matter what I say, they are constantly telling me what Obama should do. So when I stumbled across this article I had to post. Al Giordano has taken my points, added some more, and placed them into a well-written post. Basically, he’s done the work for me!
So rather than cut and paste the entire thing, I’ll leave you with this teaser and ask you to read on…
Chicken Little-ism has found its latest evolution in the chorus of wanna-be presidential campaign managers that tell us that they know best what their favored candidate ought to be doing to win the 2008 election.
I hereby bestow a new moniker on the advanced Chicken Littles of that particular tendency: The Armchairmen.
Typically, the advice goes like this: “Obama should hit back,” or “Obama should hit back harder!”
Um, when the fighter in the ring is already pounding his rival, that’s not advice. It’s the raving of a willfully blind and deaf spectator.
But Obama has been hitting back. He’s been hitting hard and in key states. Let’s review…
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania:
The Armchairmen must have missed the roar of the Harleys (on the radio airwaves in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) Talking Points Memo has posted the audio. Here’s the transcript:
Announcer: Listen to John McCain speaking to motorcycle enthusiasts in Sturgis, South Dakota, on Tuesday.
McCain: Not long ago a couple of hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I’ll take the roar of 50,000 Harleys any day…
Announcer: But when it comes to his record, American-made motorcycles like Harleys don’t matter to John McCain. Back in Washington, McCain opposed the requirement that the government buy American-made motorcycles. And he said all buy-American provisions were quote “disgraceful.” Surprised? You shouldn’t be. This is the same John McCain who supported billions in tax breaks for companies who ship American jobs overseas. (More motors revving)
Announcer: It’s time to hear the roar of the strong American economy again — and stop John McCain from shipping our jobs overseas.
Obama: I’m Barack Obama, candidate for president, and I approved this message. Paid for by Obama for America.
Ohio…
Announcer: July 9. 2008. Portsmouth, Ohio. Here’s what John McCain said about DHL’s plans to eliminate 8,200 Ohio jobs.
John McCain (from Ohio town hall): I gotta look you in the eye and give you straight talk. I don’t know if I can stop it or not or if it will be stopped.
Announcer: But there’s something John McCain’s not telling you: It was McCain who used his influence in the Senate to help foreign-owned DHL buy a U.S. company and gain control over the jobs that are now on the chopping block in Ohio.
And that’s not all: McCain’s campaign manager was the top lobbyist for the DHL deal…helped push it through. His firm was paid $185,000 to lobby McCain and other Senators.
Now 8,200 Ohioans are facing layoffs, and foreign-owned DHL doesn’t care.
John McCain (from Ohio town hall): I gotta look you in the eye and give you straight talk.
Announcer: John McCain. Same old politics. Same failed policies.
Barack Obama: I’m Barack Obama, candidate for President, and I approved this message. Paid for by Obama for America.
Nevada:
And The Armchairmen must have been sitting in the front yard when this TV ad, titled “Backyard”, went on the air in Nevada:
Here’s that script:
Announcer: “Imagine trucks hauling the nation’s nuclear waste on our highways to Yucca Mountain? John McCain supports opening Yucca. He’s not worried about nuclear waste in our state – only in Arizona.”
Clip from May 2007 television interview: Reporter: “Would you be comfortable with nuclear waste coming through Arizona on its way, you know going through Phoenix, on its way to Yucca Mountain?
John McCain: “No, I would not. No, I would not.”
Narrator: “John McCain. For nuclear waste in Nevada, just not in his backyard. Barack Obama opposes opening Yucca. He’ll protect our families.
Obama: “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.”
Giordano continues…
That’s pretty tough stuff, all of it.
Actually, have any readers here heard or seen evidence that McCain is hitting back at these local offensives in swing states Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania? He’s getting bloodied up where it counts – in the Electoral College – and McCain’s problem is that he really has no good defense against the fact-based charges in these ads.
They’re not attacks for attacking’s sake. They’re carefully executed and delivered to effectively plant the seeds of doubt about McCain in voters’ minds.
Okay… so maybe I cut and pasted, but – damn! – this is good stuff!