Obama McCain Campaign Watch

Does anyone really believe that the Obama Administration will end any program outside of the Defense Department? Even President Clinton was unable to eliminate non-Defense programs and he has a huge economic boom during his administraiton.

Also, does anyone really believe that big city Democrats know anything about improving schools. Obama has had more than a decade of representing Chicago to improve Chicago schools and the only thing that has happened is that they stopped using transfats.

I believe in airing out things that won't go away. So it's time for Team-Obama to put the remaining knee-jerk fears to bed, since McCain is going to milk Biden's gaff for all it's worth...and that may be more than you think.

What Obama needs to state very quickly, and emphatically, is that the difference between him and McCain isn't national disaster vs security, but really quite the opposite. McCain's erratic brashness is what will set our enemies (and allies) neckhair up in hackles, instead of smoothing it down with conditions. The Obama conditions should be spelled plainly, as in: you don't go into negotiations empty-handed. On the other hand, you don't go into negotiations with a set of brass knuckles on. You put the brass knuckles in your pocket where your enemy can see the telltale bulge. It garners respect.

People tend to get hot-headed and irrational rather quickly when someone comes to the dinner party with weapons drawn and pointed right at their snoots. There's your international crises; and it's name is "McCain"...

Obama isn't going into vital negotiations without his brass knuckles. He'll have one of the world's finest military behind him and all its advisors. Remember, Obama listens and adapts. McCain is the maverick who won't listen even when it's important to.. Who will work better with top commanders...?

..uh huh...

Obama seriously and quickly needs to make these points. Echoing what Colin Powell had to say about him recently will be the bold italics. It's all about timing. Don't let the Powell goldmine go unmined..

Absolutely amazing. Obama gives clear information about his plans to help the country get back on it's feet. McCain paints a murky, fearful picture about why he should be elected - presumably to continue the 8 year failing status quo. Good grief, no wonder Obama is so far ahead in the polls.

The contrast is interesting.

Foreign Policy, as much as people try to do, cannot be deemed "Liberal" or "Conservative" as it is much more complicated than that , certainly moreso than domestic policy. If I had to classify Biden's gaffe, it would be true, but utterly stupid - Just as Obama's comment about bombing targets in Pakistan was.

SD,

I think what is appealing to many people is that the guy seems to have no rigid ideology - he's got a super sense of pragmatism and willingness to try something different. I don't think his will be as stubborn as past administrations have been. If he wants to have a successful Presidency, he (and the Congress) have to play ball down the middle and not take it and run.

If he wants to get anything done (including the budget) I think he's not going to be the problem - the majority leadership needs to be changed. It's all about Congress here. In some cases, at least from my POV; It always has been.

Matt,

You are just hearing what you want to hear. If you actually parse what Obama is saying on his web site, it is standard Democratic boiler. When people believe they hear that Obama is for charter schools, all his web site says about charter schools is he will pass regulations that will make it harder for charter schools to exist.

Virtually every position he has is the same position as held by Dick Durbin, the other Democratic senator from Illinois.

I believe most people instead of being realistic are setting themselves up for disappointment with the coming Obama Administration.

Of course it's standard stuff - it's gotta be. What I was trying to get at wasn't so much his actual policy as how he'd possibly evaluate the effect and aftermath of implementation and not just stick by it just to stick by it.

Hell, I may be wrong - I often am - but what he said in that second debate about being unsure if his diplomacy policy with enemy nations would work (instead of being absolutely, positively, sure it would or will) resonates with me on how he'd look at the bigger picture.

SD : "I believe most people instead of being realistic are setting themselves up for disappointment with the coming Obama Administration."

Think about how low the GOP has placed the bar in recent years... you may want to review your opinion.

JSpencer,

Do you really think that black, Hispanics and 20 something progressives are going to be realistic in their expectations. The government is going to be running huge deficits in the next couple of years and the Obama ADministration is not going to be able to deliver on free college, free healthcare, and a government job for everyone.

Also, the upper middle class is going to be very upset when the tax increases start affecting people much lower than the $250K earners.

And last when the Obama ADministraiton cancels construction on border security infrastructure and pts every illegal alien in the U.S. on the fast track to citizenship, the middle class and blue collar whites will be very upset.

Instead of cheerleading for the Democartic machines, why not start asking the hard questions of the coming Democratic lock on power.

SD, I've never been a "cheerleader" so much as I've been a critic of phony arguments and disingenuous "leadership", which in turn leads me to support the candidate who will do the least harm. Barack Obama will no more be able to create a utopia than any other president in history, but he may makes some small gains and reverse the present trend of abysmal governing.

Jspencer,

Do you really think that someone who power base is in a city that defines band governance will actually be able to govern? I seriously doubt it but I suspect that I will see many progressive bloggers defending every poor Obama decision as hard as the right wing spent six years defending President Bush.

The news reports are filled with stories about government employees going through the records fo "Joe the Plumber" yet the progressive blogger who have spend years ranting about domestic spying are all quiet on the issue. This does not bode well for the future.

SD, I think you spend too much energy enabling your own sour grapes attitude. Bush has a clear record of failure as a president, whereas Obama (if elected) has the opportunity to do some good. I suspect the progressive bloggers will hold Obama's feet to the fire more than reactionary bloggers did Bush's. Unlike past republicans it's generally been the nature of democrats to be more critical of their leaders and less in lockstep. Of course the republicans aren't much in lockstep at the moment.

Jspencer,

AFter years of watching the CBC get away with racist and bigoted behavior and after years of watching Democratic legislators (i.e. Robert Byrd) get away with unquestioned pork barreling), the left does not have a good track record of policing its own. There is no way that an Obama Administration can believe the promised entitlement growth. Also, given new regulatory schemes for energy use, carbon emissions, and unionization, the private sector is bound to shrink in the first few years of the Obama ADminisration.

The real question is whether the Democrats in Congress will be able to avoid making massive changes to the tax laws every years (See the proposals for eliminating the tax advantages orf 401K and IRA contributions). I doubt that Senator Obama has the leadership skills to reign in the Democartic domination of Congress.