Obama had a great comeback to McCain - he said "I notice John McCain doesn't have anything good about himself." That reframes the conversation and keeps things civil - 2 tricks that have eluded most of his predecessors (and apparently many online commentators).

Posted at August 1, 2008 10:17 AM in response to Election Central Morning Roundup

Obama said on one of the talk shows this weekend that his vp would offer the following: integrity, independence (willingness to disagree discreetly but openly), common vision w/ him of the American future, and a particular knowledge base that will add value to the ticket (such that vp could run with that issue). What is Kaine's issue-specific knowledge base?

Posted at July 28, 2008 5:03 PM in response to Survey Results! Brilliant TPM Readers Predict Obama-Kaine and McCain-Romney Tickets

I agree that the campaign needs to learn about hubris from the Clinton campaign. Plouffe emphasized the "persuasion army" of people hosting house parties, but that is a very delicate experiment, and from what I've seen, the campaign is not really on top of it (reminds me of the years-ago Hands Across America, or the more recent effort by MoveOn to house Katrina refugees - lots of negatives that never made the news). Also, many of the Small Donors whose support led him to conclude that he could forego public financing (and he probably can, of course) are tapped out - were putting those donations on their credit cards, just to help him get the nomination. "Now that he's gotten it, why can't the rich step up and put him over the top?" It's risky business to take that fragile source of support for granted.

Posted at June 26, 2008 10:40 AM in response to Can the Obama Campaign Shape the Agenda?

She also needs for the "other" vote in Michigan to not be attributed to Obama - what is rightly being called the North Korean model.

Posted at May 28, 2008 2:27 PM in response to Hillary's Last Hope......

Oregon's former governor John Kitzhaber (61), an emergency room doctor who has built a credible political movement around universal health care coverage, also has strong credentials as an environmental steward. He may run for governor again in 2010 and does not want to live in DC, but is an energetic campaigner and inspiring speaker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kitzhaber

Posted at May 28, 2008 2:23 PM in response to Veepstakes Open Thread

Webb and Clark are both stiff campaigners, but Webb might be the only person in a position to help with Appalachia (see his book lauding the Scots-Irish).

Posted at May 22, 2008 10:58 AM in response to Obama Begins Veep Selection

Look to Sunstein and Thaler's new book "Nudge" to get a start on envisioning Obamaland. Obama seems to be very process-oriented, and so the values and protocols of mediation and conflict resolution may become a lot more familiar to the general public (and will also demand that we learn to stretch our attention spans). I'm betting a lot of people who may be expecting Obama to hand them a world of Bizarro-Bush will be disappointed at first, but here's hoping his unusually patient approach catches on.

Posted at May 20, 2008 12:02 PM in response to Post-Nixonland Open Thread

@ carlmcq: if the thesis is restricted, what is your source of information? do you have a copy of the questionnaire you refer to? do you have any corroborating evidence from the past 23 years?

Posted at May 14, 2008 12:05 PM in response to Swift Boat Vet Operative Vows To "Attack Obama Viciously"

Maybe we should all take the Myers-Briggs test, and reflect on the implications, at least as a new way to frame this conversation. Obama is probably an INT- type, by far the least common, and one which does not rush in to fight bombast with bombast. It is a reflective, but by no means ineffective, profile and one which is badly needed in the US nowadays. Let's stand back and let the man show us how different he is from his FORMER pastor.

Posted at April 29, 2008 12:45 PM in response to Obama: Dump Wright Now Before He Destroys You

Good luck getting any such courses in consumer advocacy and financial literacy into the schools' curriculums - at least in the public schools, and probably in most private schools as well. I doubt that the interested sectors of the business community would allow it.

Posted at March 10, 2008 12:51 PM in response to Credit Squeeze