"As he's said many times before, Senator Obama honors and respects Senator
McCain's service, and of course he rejects yesterday's statement by General
Clark," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
What the fuck do you mean "of course he rejects"? What was there to reject? Tell me, Mr. Burton, are you saying that Obama now agrees that his military service makes McCain more qualified for the Presidency than him? Really? Because that's a pretty weird way to run a campaign, conceding that the other guy is more qualified for office!
First FISA, now this. This isn't how Obama got here. He can't win by triangulating like just another Clinton. That isn't "change". If the electorate has a choice between Republican and Republican lite, they'll choose the real deal, not the cheap imitation. And Obama does not want to be pissing off this guy:
It looks like Obama is gun-shy after sticking by Jeremiah Wright. Now, he
can't move quickly enough to denounce his own allies. So he's cross at Wes
Clark, and he's mighty cross at MoveOn as well! Who else will he be cross with
as he kicks off "Operation Piss Off the People Supporting and Bankrolling His
Campaign In Order To Prove He Hates the Dirty Fucking Hippies". Now that the
primary is over, he can turn his back on the people that brought him.I was going to max out to him today, given I haven't given Obama a dime yet (focusing
on congressional candidates). But I changed my mind. He wants to send the
message that he doesn't need us, all the power to him. Message received. I'll
spend that $2,300 somewhere else.
2 comments:
"If the electorate has a choice between Republican and Republican lite, they'll choose the real deal, not the cheap imitation."
I've seen this line of reasoning used before, by both Democrats and Republicans ("if only the Republicans would run a REAL conservative then they'd win easily..."). I've never bought it - people vote for the candidate which they like best and is closest to their own political views. They don't vote to punish a party just for being ideologically pure enough. Plenty of moderate candidates have done very well (eg. Eisenhower).
That isn't to say that I agree with Obama on this point, only that he can probably afford to move closer to the centre without suffering electoral harm (and possibly making some electoral gain).
I disagree that Obama "moving to the centre" will bring him any electoral gain. He has gotten this far by galvanizing his liberal base and impressing everyone with his no-nonsense attitude towards Republican attacks. His lack of fear when challenging them on issues like national security must have been frightening for the Right. Here was someone would not meekly go along with their foreign policy paradigms while failing to match them in "toughness", but would instead challenge the very underpinnings of their beliefs.
But what he's doing now has the effect of demoralizing the very people who will work hard to get him elected. It also makes him look like Bill Clinton, not some revolutionary who promises to bring "change".
Given all the favorable polling, I don't understand why Obama felt it necessary to suddenly shift his entire platform rightwards at this point in time, but maybe his campaign people know something I don't.
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