Obama '08?

How do you run against that flashy flimflam? You don’t. Karl Rove for once gave the Democrats a real tip rather than a bum steer when he wrote last week that if Obama wants to win, “he needs to remember he’s running against John McCain for president,” not Palin for vice president. Obama should keep stepping up the blitz on McCain’s flip-flops, confusion, ignorance and blurriness on major issues (from education to an exit date from Iraq), rather than her gaffes and résumé. If he focuses voters on the 2008 McCain, the Palin question will take care of itself.

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I think Obama might just keep doing his thing -- face-to-face campaigning, ground game, staying cool -- with occasional forays into "enough is enough"-type bemused exasperation, and occasional "McCain would rather lose his integrity than the election" broadsides from his campaign, until the first debate (September 26th). Then -- in a one-on-one appearance with MCCAIN (not Palin) -- show fire and aggression and poise that will come as a surprise to many viewers... and become a story, especially if he extracts a major gaffe or outburst from McCain.

If that is Obama's game plan then, IMO, he might just as well pack up his campaign right now. That's a pretty high risk plan and there is just as much of a chance it wil backfire and Obama will come out looking desperate. At the current rate of change in the polls Obama could easily be down by 10 points by the 26th.

Tanning Bed to Troopergate: Palin Aides Kept Scrambling
Questions About Tanning Bed in Governor's Mansion -- Sends Aides Scrambling
By RHONDA SCHWARTZ
Sept. 16, 2008

"It's vetting gone haywire," said Gov. Sarah Palin's beleaguered press secretary, Bill McAllister, as he dealt with a new round of questions about the governor -- this time about a tanning bed installed in the governor's mansion in Juneau.

Governor Sarah Palin had a tanning bed installed in the Governor's mansion in Juneau, Alaska. A spokesperson says she paid the expense out of her own pocket.

In the 2½ weeks since Palin was named to the GOP ticket, McAllister's phone has been ringing off the hook from national reporters who have descended on the state to look into the background of the governor.

Monday, US Weekly and a blog, NarcoNews, reported that "the former beauty queen's penchant for a bronzed body" led to the installation of a "private tanning bed" shortly after she took office.

"She paid for it herself," said McAllister from his Anchorage office. He told ABC News he had "no idea" why she had installed the machine but confirmed it was installed in the mansion.

yesterday John McCain actually said that if he's President, he'll take on, and I quote, 'the old boys' network in Washington.' I'm not making this up. This is somebody who's been in Congress for 26 years who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now, he tells us that he's the one who's going to take on the 'old boys' network'. The 'old boys network!' In the McCain campaign that's called a 'staff meeting.' Come on.

Politics inspires more armchair quarterbacking than football. And although I know a thing or two about public policy, my instinct is to assume that veteran political strategists--particularly those now working for Barack Obama--know better than I do how to manage a presidential campaign. So it's entirely possible that their new advertisement is the perfect spot at the perfect time.

For those who have not seen it, it features Obama, seated and speaking directly into the camera about the economy and his proposals to improve it:

WATCH

[snip]

My problem starts with the ad's big pivot line, in which Obama says

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The truth is that while you've been living up to your responsibilities Washington has not. That's why we need change. Real change.

At the ad's conclusion, Obama hits the same theme

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I approved this message because bitter, partisan fights and outworn ideas of the left and the right won't solve the problems we face today. But a new spirit of unity and shared responsibility will.

I continue to think this is absolutely the wrong way to frame the debate on economic policy.

[First reason why snipped]

[T]he framing is wrong on the merits. The influence of lobbyists and special interests have something to do with our problems. But they are not as important a cause as conservative ideology and the people who have advanced it--in other words, President Bush and the Republicans.

But Bush and the Republicans make no appearances in this advertisement. None. Zilcho. Nada.

Even worse, instead of reminding voters of the Republicans' responsibility for our problems, this spot actually blurs the differences between the parties--yet again--by placing blame on "outworn ideas of the left."

I wonder, just which ideas would those be? Regulation of the financial industry? Government spending on jobs and education? Universal health care? They all sound pretty good right about now.

Bush is the least popular president in recent memory.The troubled economy is the voters top concern and, historically, voters have always trusted Democrats more than Republicans on those issues. And on the specific issues--from investment to health care--voters actually support Democratic positions. Shouldn't Obama hammer away at this, the way his running mate did the other day in Michigan?