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PLOUFFE TRAP - 1) Set, 2) Mark(s) Take Bait, 3) Pounce & Trounce in PA
Did Barack just become the candidate of the little guy in a dizzying, death-defying way? We'll find out in the next few days. As long as he keeps saying that he's IN FAVOR of Gun Rights, I think he'll come out stronger. The next 2 days will be crucial if he's not going to be labeled more of an elitist... He can win this, but he needs to get loud and biting in his criticism. After all, he's the only one of the 3 who isn't worth over $100 Million Dollars and has a subscription to The Robb Report.
He's done well so far in
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Comments (13)
OK, most of it didn't post... Here's the rest:
He's done well so far in Terre Haute, IN:
1. Put HRC firmly in pocket of Credit Card and Financial "Services" Lobby. CHECK.
2. Highlight McCain's ENDLESS gaffes and indications that he's out of touch on economics, and barely understands the issues. CHECK.
but....
3. Make sure PA Gun Rights folks understand that's he's FOR rifles, but that he knows they want MORE from their elected officials. ________ (Incomplete.)
4. Gail Collins said he looks "too disturbingly Ivy League." I agree. Now’s the time to drop the suit and get some Carharts and some boots. Don't go hunting on a fake trip, but loosen up! This isn't debate team. Wear some regular-guy clothes... :) ________ (Incomplete.)
5. Use this as a spring board to really talk about how bad it is out there. Jim Cramer lost his mind one day on MadMoney about it... The economic pain is real! It's bad out here! Specifically, PayDay Loans and Check Advance rip-off outlets are in the TOP 5 businesses in Arizona (I can't find where I heard that... NPR a few weeks ago I think...). McCain allows Arizonans to be ripped off and tricked into peonage at a prodigious rate. It's not elitist to say this usury is WRONG! Pounce Barack! ________ (Incomplete.)
Go get 'em! "I'm Lovin' It!"
April 12, 2008 2:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure what Carhats are, but definitely "no" to the boots. Sure, take it down a notch. Maybe blue jeans and a casual tee. However, if he puts on boots, he's going to come off as "trying too hard" and appear less genuine rather than more. If Carhats was a typo and you mean "car hats" as in caps with car logos on them (e.g., Chevy), I'd also give that a "no" for the same reason.
April 12, 2008 8:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Carhartt makes those mustard brown work pants and overalls that construction workers and farmers wear. Tough as hell, wear like iron.
April 12, 2008 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought the exact same thing. Did Hillary just give him the populist opening that he can use for the next few weeks?
April 12, 2008 2:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Every time you open your Credit Card Statement, think about Hillary's support of Credit Card companies."
"Every time you fill up your gas tank, thank George W. Bush and his sweaty-armpit hug buddy - John McCain."
"Every time you wonder where Osama is, and why he wasn't brought to Justice, think of McCain's support of George W. Bush's failed leadership and failed execution in Iraq."
April 12, 2008 3:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks this could be a hopeful turn of events. It all rests on the intelligence of the American voter, and frankly, I think they've got more intelligence than many pundits give them credit for.
The children of privilege are calling the child of a single-mother "elitist," and claiming it's an insult for bitter Americans to be called bitter?
Right.
April 12, 2008 3:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yvaughn: You're right, he's trusting in the "intelligence of the American voter." So much so that he's risking his whole campaign that they will listen to his words long enough to let them sink in, and let him get to the White House. This is the only way to get our government back. It feels so risky, and "dizzying, death-defying" but he's going to make it.
April 12, 2008 3:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
I expect Hillary's campaign to misstep, and blunder its way a few more times to the PA primary. I think there is a direct correlation between the desperation of the candidate and the mistakes made by her and her campaigners. The tightening polls will add to her desperation.
I hope she brings out another 3 am advert :-)
April 12, 2008 7:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
"4. Gail Collins said he looks "too disturbingly Ivy League." I agree. Now’s the time to drop the suit and get some Carharts and some boots. Don't go hunting on a fake trip, but loosen up! This isn't debate team. Wear some regular-guy clothes... :) ________ (Incomplete.)"
I'd say no to this. Don't pretend to be something you are not. Very bad.
And who says any voters want him to be exactly like them?
I think a more casual at-home style is better. Photos of him relaxng with his kids and the like "humanize" him more without the sham condescension of wearing hunting gear. (Remember how well that worked for JFKerry)
April 12, 2008 9:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep - that's what I said: "some regular-guy clothes." Not the fake marketing, clothing tour.
He still sits on tractors and such for photo ops. He looks silly in the suit. Maybe just drop the tie on such occasions.
April 12, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let me stipulate that I hate myself for doing this. Responding to every flap-of-the-day is definitely not my usual style. (I'm going to bury it here, just to get it on the record. Any one of a dozen other posts would have done just as well).
There's something about the tone of everyone ELSE'S responses to the Obama "bitter" statement that gets my goat a little. Let me free-associate a little (once and done):
(1)Why is there such a desperate search for "context" in every Obama clunker? Why don't others get this benefit of the doubt?
(2)Why such a hurry to declare Sen. Obama the counterpunch "winner"? No one can possibly know that before the full impact of all this is absorbed by the public (specifically in places like Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky).
(3)Sen. Obama's response to this (as best I understand it) is hardly "brilliant". It's predictable tactical boilerplate: ("Bitter? You BET they're bitter. Wouldn't you be bitter, too, if..."). We've all seen this movie before. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
(4)Finally, here's why this speech does a little at least mild harm to Sen. Obama, in my opinion:
(a)Whatever the perhaps defensible context (there's that word, again) of what he said, he said it in the wrong place. If you're going to frankly discuss your theories of the psychology of Mid-Westerners, do it to their face - not in San Francisco, of all places.
(b) This statement must be considered in the context (God!) of the "bowling" visual, and various press accounts of Obama's awkwardness in these lttle "diner" stops. You cannot help getting the impression that this is definitely not a lunch-bucket guy, for better or worse in terms of his suitability for higher office.
That said, I'm done. As usual, the public will sort it all out and deliver a fair verdict in its proper time at the polls.
April 12, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
One_wilson -- I saw Obama on the ground here in Iowa, in places similar to those in Pennsylvania and Indiana, and he was never awkward. He's comfortable in his own skin.
And as I understand it, he did respond to the criticism of his San Fran comments at a rally in Indiana -- in front of people like those he was referring to.
And the rest of the country, the majority of whom don't live in rural areas, should know there is a lot of bitterness out here. People feel forgotten and left behind and they don't have a clue what to do about it. I face it every day. Getting folks to believe we can bring about positive change is like trying to scuba dive without oxygen.
April 12, 2008 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ben: You don't know what "car hats" are? (Just kidding... Carharts, which I'm probably spelling wrong, are just regular working jeans you'd wear on a farm or painting...) I was kidding, of course. He should definitely not do the Al Gore "Earth Tones" tour. I'm just saying drop the tie, drop the banker-blue shirt, and wear a simpler jacket. He bowled in the suit, remember.
Not trying to get superficial, but he needs to seriously consider the "visual campaign". I know in principle it shouldn't matter, but a lot a folks get a quick glimpse of what's happening on CNN or FoxNews with no sound at the airport...
April 12, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
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