The Post-HRC Strategy
Now that the nominee is a virtual certainty, how does Obama move forward? He's already been hitting McCain for the last few months, building up his image as The Nominee for some time.
But that has to wait for now, or at least be farmed out to surrogates. Obama's speech last night indicates that he recognizes that before he can move on to the November contest, he must heal the rifts created in the last four months. The good news is, the steps down this road are easy.
1. Wait. He's already doing this, and the reasons are obvious--letting Clinton decide the best time to get out is the classy path, and it doesn't inflame the hardcore Clintonistas who still, for whatever reasons, think she might just pull it off. And as widely noted, losing WV and KY when she's already out of the race doesn't help Obama's chances. Let her play candidate for just a little while longer.
2. Adopt her health care plan. This part, in my mind, is crucial. Clinton's plan is almost universally (among Democrats) recognized as being more in line with the party's long-term goals for health care, even by Obama supporters. By acknowledging that Clinton got something right (and something big at that), Obama lessens the risk of further spurning Clinton's base and lets them feel that their efforts were not all for naught. This also supports his argument that he's willing to work with people once seen as the opposition, thus boosting his appeal to independents.
3. Hint broadly at an A.G. John Edwards. Less important than the above, but reinforces the Democratic Dream Team paradigm for November--if the best three chances from the entire Dem race are all seen as having a large role to play in the next administration, the reunification of the Democratic Party will appear to begin in earnest. Promising to get Gore and Richardson in on the act at some point wouldn't hurt, either.
Agree or disagree? What other steps should Obama look to take?
But that has to wait for now, or at least be farmed out to surrogates. Obama's speech last night indicates that he recognizes that before he can move on to the November contest, he must heal the rifts created in the last four months. The good news is, the steps down this road are easy.
1. Wait. He's already doing this, and the reasons are obvious--letting Clinton decide the best time to get out is the classy path, and it doesn't inflame the hardcore Clintonistas who still, for whatever reasons, think she might just pull it off. And as widely noted, losing WV and KY when she's already out of the race doesn't help Obama's chances. Let her play candidate for just a little while longer.
2. Adopt her health care plan. This part, in my mind, is crucial. Clinton's plan is almost universally (among Democrats) recognized as being more in line with the party's long-term goals for health care, even by Obama supporters. By acknowledging that Clinton got something right (and something big at that), Obama lessens the risk of further spurning Clinton's base and lets them feel that their efforts were not all for naught. This also supports his argument that he's willing to work with people once seen as the opposition, thus boosting his appeal to independents.
3. Hint broadly at an A.G. John Edwards. Less important than the above, but reinforces the Democratic Dream Team paradigm for November--if the best three chances from the entire Dem race are all seen as having a large role to play in the next administration, the reunification of the Democratic Party will appear to begin in earnest. Promising to get Gore and Richardson in on the act at some point wouldn't hurt, either.
Agree or disagree? What other steps should Obama look to take?
