The Attack Takes Shape
Yesterday’s primary results revealed two important things: Obama is the frontrunner, and we have a pretty good idea how McCain plans to attack him.
On the first point, it ain’t over for the D’s, as the primary moves to some big states where Clinton might have more of an edge. But it’s the second point on which I’d like to focus, because it’s important for progressives to get out in front of this one right away.
Early this AM, I debated Stephan Moore, the anti-tax activist and Wall St. Journal editorial writer. He’s explicitly scared by Obama’s momentum and his line of attack was something like: Sure, he’s inspirational, but “where’s the beef?”
And check out McCain from this morning’s Washington Post: “To encourage a country with only rhetoric, rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people, is not a promise of hope. It is a platitude.”
It’s an obvious strategy: try to turn your opponent’s strength into his weakness. But it’s nuts. Both Obama and Clinton are incredibly beefy, with policy agendas that are more robust and carefully thought out than that any presidential bid in recent memory. On health care reform alone, they’re trailblazing.
