dolstein's Blog

It's time to challenge McCain's character

2008-09-11T20:46:02Z

Now that McCain's campaign consists of one prolonged assault on Barack Obama's character, it's high time for the Obama campaign to return fire.

And it really isn't that hard. There's a compelling, even tragic narrative to John McCain's political career that is qutie easy to grasp. Put simply, McCain has turned into the very thing he condemned in his maverick days -- indeed, the very thing he purports to condemn now.

Seriously, McCain has caved on every issue on which he built his maverick reputation, all in the pursuit of blind political ambition. My friends, that's not putting country first.

Campaign finance reform? He's run away from that.
Bush tax cuts? He voted against them, now wants to make them permanent.
Abortion? In 2000, he said he didn't want Roe overturned, Now he's reversed himself.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform. He'd vote against his own bill today.
Global Warming? He's opposed to the bi-partisan energy bill.

Once a maverick, not just a typical flip flopping politcian pandering to extremist elements in his own party. The POW who bravely endured torture at the hand of his Viet Cong captors is now too scared to take on the right wing.

My friends, that's not putting country first.

Just imagine the add you could put together: McCain the Maverick versus McCain the craven politician. All in his own words.

But let's get even more personal. Like Barack Obama today, McCain was once the victim of a viscious smear campaign. But instead of sticking to his principles, instead of fighting the good fight. McCain surrendered to the politics of personal destruction. The VERY SAME PEOPLE who were responsible for viscious attacks on his family ARE NOW ON THE McCAIN CAMPAIGN PAYROLL.

Seriously, what does it say about a man's character that he would employ the very same smear merchants who went after his family?

Isn't it time for Barack to say something along the lines of this: "I'll leave it to John McCain to defend his hiring decisions. All I can tell you is this. I love my wife and I love my kids to much to ever employ anyone who tried to smear my family."

Why didn't anyone smack down Giuliani last night? Here's the response I would have given . . .

2008-09-04T23:35:11Z

So Rudy Giuliani thinks Barack Obama is too "cosmopolitan" for America? That's pretty rich coming from a twice-divorced, cross-dressing opera lover from New York City.

Seriously, why aren't there any Democratic surrogates or media figures who are willing to tear Rudy the second a****** he so richly deserves?

New Meme: McCain is too "thin skinned" and "hot headed" to be President

2008-07-01T19:21:00Z

This latest dust up over Wes Clark's comments has deteriorated to the point where the McCain campaign appears to be lashing out at anyone who has anything critical to say about their candidate. I think the McCain campaign is overplaying their hand, and this creates an opening for the Obama campaign. His surrogates need to start emphasizing how cool headed Obama is. How he's taken everything Clinton and McCain have thrown at him in stride. And how, in contrast, McCain is thin skinned, short tempered, hot headed. Even McCain's friends know he's got a problem keeping his temper in check. And the press, much as they love McCain, know this too. So Obama's campaign needs to turn this around and start baiting McCain by saying he's overreacting and suggesting that he's termperamentally unsuited to be president. This puts McCain in a no win situation -- he either pulls back and reinforces the impression that this was all manufactured outrage, or he escalates, and reinforces the Democratic argument that he's too hot headed to trust in the Oval Office.

Let's call out Bush's act for what it is: treason

2008-05-15T19:34:53Z

George Bush has appeared before a foregin government and attacked the presumptive Democratic nominee and likely 44th president of the United States. Politics should stop at the water's edge. If George Bush wants to jump back into the political fray, he can do so in his own country. But attacking the future leader of America in front of a foregin government is nothing less than an act of treason. If a Democrat were to appear before a foreign government and trash our country's leaders, we all know that the Republicans would be trotting out the "t" word.

More Evidence that CNN Stands for "Clinton News Network"

2008-03-26T20:26:35Z

Does CNN fact check anything, or do they simply read from a script provided by the Clinton campaign? Serious, a CNN reporter on the Situation Room just reported that a Clinton insider had described to her a scenario under which Clinton wins the nomination. This reported said this insider told her that Clinton had won 3 of the last 4 contests, and that if she won big in Pennsylvania, as she is expected to do, and then support for the Obama campaign collapsed, the superdelegates would flock to the Clinton side.

Now there are a lot of if's packed into that statement. But there's also a glaring facutal error. Clinton hasn't won 3 of the last 4 contests. Obama has won the last two contests, Wyoming and Mississippi. Clinton won Ohio and Rhode Island before that. Obama won Vermont. Texas was arguably a draw, with Clinton winning the primary and Obama winning the caucus, though if a winner has to be delared in that state, it would Obama, who'll walk away with the most delegates. So in truth, Clinton has lost the last two contests, and won only two of the last six. Hell, even if you charitably give Clinton Texas, that's still only three of the last six. And Obama's lead in pledged delegates is at least as big as it was before Clinton broke her losing streak.

Personally, I'm struck by how much of CNN's political coverage amounts to nothing more than repeating the Clinton talking points verbatim. That's laziness, pure and simple. And what's worse, by having CNN "reporters" voice these statements, rather than running video of the Clinton surrage, they give these statements added legitimaticy, because many viewers naively assume that CNN wouldn't be saying these things if they weren't true.

Message to Obama: Time to Challenge Hillary over Joint Ticket Suggestions

2008-03-08T02:05:40Z

What I wouldn't give to have the Obama camp issue the following statement:
"Over the past week, Hillary Clinton and her supporters have repeatedly questioned Barack Obama's qualifications to be commander in chief, while at the same time suggesting that she would pick Barack Obama to be her running mate were she to be her party's nominee.
Barack Obama pledges that if he wins his party's nomination, his vice presidential selection will be someone that he believes is ready from day one to be commander in chief. The American people deserve no less a commitment from Hillary Clinton. We therefore demand that Hillary Clinton either repudiate her past statements questioning Barack Obama's fitness to be commander in chief or rule out a Clinton/Obama ticket."

Message to Obama: Time to Remind People of What they Don't Like About Hillary

2008-03-08T00:04:33Z

One of Obama's greatest strengths is that he is simply more likable that Hillary is. And let's not underestimate the extent to which presidential elections are popularity contests. If experience was all that mattered, Al Gore would have won the 2000 election in a landslide.
And what is it that people don't like about Hillary? She's a liar (a trait she shares with Bill). She's thin skinned. She's vindictive as hell. She's paranoid (remember the right wing conspiracy remark?). She's secretive to a fault, always acting like she's got something to hide. And she plays dirty (Florida and Michigan, turning pledged delegates, etc).
Let's see: dishonest, think skinned, vindictive, paranoid, secretive, plays dirty. Hmmm . . . reminder you of anyone else? Ok, remind you of anyone besides Dick Cheney? Yep, Hillary Clinton is Richard Nixon in a pantsuit.
Whenever the Clinton campaign attacks you (which is pretty much all the time to day), in addition to challenging the merits (always to this), you need to need to turn the argument back on them by showing how their behavior exemplifies one of Hillary's many character flaws.

If Hillary's camp goes ballistic over some crude remark by an Obama staffer or the press, you need to make the case that a president is going to face such attacks all the time, and question whether Hillary is temperamentally suited for the job. And if this provokes even more outrage from Hillary's camp so much the better -- it only proves your point.
If Hillary's camp overstates its case (e.g., a lifetime of experiences versus one speech, a request for tax returns being a Ken Starr fishing expedition), you need to pound away at how Hilary likes to play fast and loose with the truth. And goad the press into investigating her statements rather than printing them verbatim.
Finally, keep hammering away at her unwillingness to disclose her tax returns immediately, the Clinton's refusal to reveal the identities of the library contributors, and their footdragging on the release of Clinton administration records. The Clintons have always been a little tone deaf on the issue of transparency (going back to the secret meetings of the the health care task force) -- they instinctively act as though they have something to hide. So this will be a gift that keeps on giving.

Message to Obama: Be BOLD

2008-03-05T18:57:23Z

You want to lead the free world? Well ACT like a leader.

1. The questions regarding Rezko keep festering. Well now's your chance to put those questions to rest once and for all. Announce a press conference. Invite all the cable stations and networks to cover it live on television. Give an opening statement where you explain in excrutiating detail (but no legalese) the nature of your relationship with Rezko. Be candidate -- if you screwed up, admit it. After completing your statement, say that you'll prepared to answer EVERY question, and that the press conference won't end until the last question has been asked and answered. If you don't know the answer to a particular question, say that you'll get the answer and will publish it on your web site. Complete transparency. Set a high standard and then demand that Hillary Clinton be held to it too.

2. The problem with Florida and Michigan isn't going away either. Announce that you want voters in those states to have their voices counted, and that your campaign is willing to put up 50% of the costs of conducting a new primary in each state, to be held in June, provided the Clinton campaign is willing to do the same.

3. Stop running from your middle name. Americans don't want a president who isn't comfortable in their own skin. The middle name is part of who you are, so you better stop being defensive about it. Be proud of your name, claim ownership of it. Take the opportunity to explain it's significance, what it means to you, and what it could mean to millions of people overseas who share that same name. It will take the sting out of the issue, and it will make the Republcians who continue to harp on your name look small by comparison.

Message to Obama: Time to Take the Gloves Off

2008-03-05T07:02:02Z

As an Obama supporter, I'm disappointed by tonight's results. Unlike the brain dead media, I realize that wiping out a 20 point lead in states like Ohio and Texas was never a sure thing. And yet, I have to concede that once again (shads of Nevada, New Hampshire), Obama was badly outmaneuvered in the final days of this campaign. For all the complaints coming from the Clinton campaign about unfair treatment from the press, they remain far more effective when it comes to manipulating the press than the Obama campaign has been. And while I'm pretty disgusted by the Rove tactics employed by the Clinton campaign, the fact of the matter is that Obama is likely to face far worse from the Republican campaign, and he needs to start demonstrating his abilty to fight back. Seriously, he's got to start throwing some punches or he's going to get tagged -- justifiably, in my view -- as just another high minded but weaked kneed liberal from the Adlai Stevenson/Michael Dukakis school.

And let's face it, he's essentially let Hillary off the hook an many issues. She's made health care her signature issue, even though it was her own gross incompetence as head of the Clinton administration's health care task force that set back the cause of universal health care by nearly two decades. She's put Obama on the defensive over ethics, when she's the one who's refused to release her tax returns, who was embroiled in scandal throughout the Clinton adminsitration, and who's penchant for secrecy and vendettas is downright Nixonian. She's dismissed him as a talker not a doer, when his record of legislative accomplishments is actually far more substantial than hers.

Seriously, Barack. It's time to take the gloves off.