Hopefully the Fight The Smears folks are paying attention, because unfortunately it seems to be one of the poorer run areas of an otherwise solid campaign. I think the Fight the Smears effort should be more of an area of focus for the campain as, at least where I live in TN, the viral e-mails seem to be everywhere and I frequently hear the misinformation come up in discussions. Instead the web site seems pretty light-weight and clunky with poor seachability. Snopes seems to do a much better job refuting this stuff that Obama's own campaign. And on two occassions I have submitted e-mails I have received that where not being refuted elsewhere yet, and got no response at all (not even a "thanks for the submission we'll take a look" auto-response). Just seems like an area that could be greatly improved.

Posted at July 29, 2008 2:57 PM in response to "Leading With The Truth To Debunk The Smear"

tennismom, I don't believe that Obama ever said or even implied there would be no trial. I am pretty sure his statement was that IF Osama is caught and CONVICTED that the death penalty was justified in his case.

I really think that so many of these things that Obama is being accused of flip-flopping on, or backing away from his progressive stance on, are actually quite consistant with his message all along. He has always talked about common sense, non-ideological, non-absolutist approaches to wedge-type issues. He has consistanatly written (in his books) and spoken about the importance of seeing both sides of complicated problems and not taking an all-or-nothing approach. This may not be the Obama that some on the left were hoping for, but he is running for President of the United States - not President of the Democratic party or the progressive movement. Our current president has shown us what you get when you govern for only half the country - I for one am all for a more universal executive.

Posted at July 12, 2008 2:43 PM in response to Death to Osama, Obama's a Genius

I originally posted this over at the Republican forum on Politico, but thought I'd throw it up here as well. Previous posters have already covered a lot of this, but I think a bit of reiteration is not a bad thing.

McCain is simply trying to dictate the terms of the campaign to play to his strengths (townhalls) and avoid his weaknesses (money, set-piece speeches). He will keep issuing challenges (like the proposed joint trip to Iraq) to Obama to try and keep him on the defensive and not allow him to get his GE feet under him. If Obama acscepts then he is letting his opponent set the agenda. If he declines, then of course McCain will portray him as a chicken who is afraid to face "real Americans". It's a fairly clever strategy, but that's all it is - a political strategy - not some highminded appeal to civility and discourse. I do think it might backfire on McCain though if Obama accepts. McCain is good in townhall settings, but Obama is no slouch at it, and if McCain wants to paint him as aloof, this is not the way to do it. Just ask Iowans, the closer the setting, the more genuine and charming Obama comes off.

Posted at June 4, 2008 1:14 PM in response to McCain Invites Obama To Series Of Weekly Town-Hall Meetings

Darii, actually it does make sense. As I pointed out above, do you think that 39% of the voters in FL being 60 years old or older while only 9% were between the ages of 18-29 is indicitive of the true demographics of the Democratic party in FL? Or isn't it more likely indicitive of the fact that many retirees had the kind of free time available to go vote in a "beauty contest" primary that many younger folks didn't bother with?

Posted at May 30, 2008 8:24 PM in response to Do Florida And Michigan Primaries Really Reflect The Will Of The People? Nope.

I would also submit that demographically, those that DID show up to vote in the beauty contest in Florida skewed fairly heavily in Clinton's favor. I think it is fair to say that those of retirement age, women, avid Hillary supporters trying to get her back in the race after SC, and deep blue life-long democrats (who I think at the time probably favored the "establishment" Hillary more so than perhaps today) were FAR more likely to make their ways to the polls for the "meaningless" vote than young people, minorities, and college-educated, middle-class careerists.

A quick glance at the FL exit polls confirms that a full 72% of voters were 45+ years of age (39% 60+), compared to only 9% in the 18-29 bracket. Likewise 59% were women, and 80% were white. Can anyone honestly believe that we would see the same numbers if this had been a fully contested primary?

Posted at May 30, 2008 6:34 PM in response to Do Florida And Michigan Primaries Really Reflect The Will Of The People? Nope.

Oops. This was intended as a reply to Blackflag but I forgot to check the box.

Posted at May 28, 2008 3:48 PM in response to A Surprising Thank You for Hillary

I'm sure you have heard this before, but it seems to require reiterating frequently. Please base your vote on the candidate and what he/she stands for - not based on what bloggers, media pundits, and other random "supporters" say. If you truly feel that Obama or his immediate campaign has participated or promoted the "slings and arrows" (outside of legitimate political wrangling) then I suppose this argument will not sway you. I challenge you, however, to produce an example of Obama denigrating Clinton for her gender or behaving in a low-class way to her. He is the candidate - not anonymous blog dwellers. Do you honestly believe that John McCain is the better candidate on women’s issues?

Posted at May 28, 2008 3:48 PM in response to A Surprising Thank You for Hillary

I'm sure you have heard this before, but it seems to require reiterating frequently. Please base your vote on the candidate and what he/she stands for - not based on what bloggers, media pundits, and other random "supporters" say. If you truly feel that Obama or his immediate campaign has participated or promoted the "slings and arrows" (outside of legitimate political wrangling) then I suppose this argument will not sway you. I challenge you, however, to produce an example of Obama denigrating Clinton for her gender or behaving in a low-class way to her. He is the candidate - not anonymous blog dwellers. Do you honestly believe that John McCain is the better candidate on women’s issues?

Posted at May 28, 2008 3:47 PM in response to A Surprising Thank You for Hillary

I was very much hoping Obama would take the high road on this as a way to reach out to the hardcore Hillary supporters. For the most part his campaign did, although not as unambigously as I think they could have.

I can't help drawing a parallel between this controversy and Obama's "bitter" comments. That was another case when those in-the-know must have all realized that the comments were being misconstrued. In that case Hillary, who is definately in-the-know, chose to push the misperception as hard as possible. To me, there is a fair bit of the shoe being on the other foot here, and Obama's campaign showed itself to be the far more gracious.

Of course, its a little easier when you've already won.

Posted at May 26, 2008 10:25 AM in response to Obama Camp: We Accept Hillary's Apology; Let's Move On

That last was meant as a response to Louisville1975

Posted at May 7, 2008 11:48 AM in response to Why