Do you think Obama is fighting back enough?

[southernleftylady]

What do you think against all this pure crap that they are flinging do you think he should take the high road and not fight back (like Dem's normally do) or do you think he should get alittle dirty... or full into the mud with them? Your thoughts..

[H2O Man]

1. Other.

I think he should continue to fight the Good Fight.

[kayell]

5. Yes, and so should we all.

Obama challenges us and all Americans to hope, to live up to the best that we can be.

"They must think you're stupid" Obama pulls no punches, yet continues to speak to hope in the best combination of hard hitting AND ethical. The least we can do here at DU is try to live up to those standards.

[wurzel]

2. The moment Obama starts to behave like a Republican

The M$M will crucify him. That is just what they are trying to goad him into.

[SecularMotion]

3. Obama is doing a great job

I'm disappointed we are not hearing from other Democrats. The Clintons, Al Gore, John Kerry, and all our big guns should be out there everyday making statements against the republican campaign.

[bryant69]

4. I don't know

I have to admit.

I think there are three routes to take.

1. Ignore the Republican Attacks, concentrate on the issues where, for the most part, Americans agree with the Democratic plan and disagree with the Republican plan.

2. Refute the Republican Attacks, take the time to explain to the American people how the Republicans are distorting the record.

3. Respond to the Republican Attacks in kind, attack McCain and Palin on their obvious weaknesses.

The problem with all of these plans is that the media has a long held bias in favor of McCain specifically and Republicans in general. If you go route one, the Media is likely to spend some 70% of their time at least talking about Republican attacks, with very time left over to talk policy. As a rule reporters aren't a fan of talking about policy anyway - the number one bias in the journalism industry is laziness, and talking about issues takes effort.

If they go the second route they could get some of these issues resolved, or they could be accused of being crybabies, or the old "Well Obama is spending a lot of time defending himself against these attacks - maybe there is some substance to them."

If they go the third route, well, then they are open to the suggestion that for a guy who promised to be a new kind of politician, he's attacking just like an old one.

But of course Republicans are saying all of these things already, so maybe it's a wash.

My gut tells me that he should go on the attack, on the issues. Make it clear that we've had 8 years of Bush, and McCain applauded all of the moves that have cost us so dearly as a nation. If you don't like the sort of policies the Bush administration has followed, and a lot of people don't, McCain and Palin are a bad choice.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Hubert Flottz]

6. Not yet...

[Mike Daniels]

7. I think he needs to hit at the "sex ed" for Kindergarten spot beyond a "statement"

You know that the McCain campaign is going to run that spot as much as possible despite the outright BS claim.

The press has been pretty good at stating that the bill in issue dealt with sexual predator issues but I think they need something that's going to go on TV repeatedly refuting the claim.

[shifting_sands]

8. ????

I think Obama is running for office with some of the best political minds in the country, I think he doesn't need yours or my advice. And the endless posts about what people with absolutely no experience think Obama should do is tiring and not helpful. What ideas do you have about the campaign, how about making phone calls, walking the streets, stuffing envelopes?

[Sheets of Easter]

9. He's fighting back, but he might have to turn it up a couple more notches.

Compared to Kerry, however, he's a regular Muhammad Ali.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Nope.

And the Obama campaign needs to unleash the 527s, not disavow them.

It's about winning and getting our country back, not taking some "high road" and another 4 years of fascism.

[Jennicut]

11. He is fighting back just fine right now, look at the Rasmussen Daily tracking #'s

He's up one right now. He is doing good.

[NNN0LHI]

12. I am not going to doubt his judgment on this

After all he did beat Hillary.

Don

[TeeYiYi]

15. Most thoughtful . . .

. . . and encouraging post in weeks. Thanks NNNOLHI. People need to be reminded of this little factoid. Beating Hillary was no minor feat...

I was a Hillary supporter (for various reasons) who now suffers from fear of losing to the Republicans yet again.

Sadly, I know someone personally who fell for the Palin speech and jumped sides.

Your post reminds me that Obama is a talented and capable politician who took on the Clinton machine and won.

He can do it again with McPalin.

TYY

[Union Thug]

13. I think that Obama is handling himself like a pro. BUT...

I think the 527s need to be unleashed to smear generously McCooter and the Pitminnow. By itself, the campaign lacks teeth and without the surrogates on the offensive, I am not convinced that Obama's cool head is enough to grab a majority. Obviously, I'm no political campaign pro, but I have learned a few things about winning fights over the years; if you don't throw punches, you're not going to win.

[LibraLiz1973]

14. I think he has fought & continues to fight hard. But the media is helping

the Republicans suck the oxygen out of this fire.
With no traction, what can he do?

He is only a man. He and Joe only have so much within their control.

Sad, but true.

[B Calm]

16. If he apologizes for the lipstick on a pig comment, I'll stay home on

election day!

[Ilsa]

17. He has to be careful -- has to stay on message, but yes, fight back, or

make sure the campaign fights back. He doesn't want to get muddy in this, but he has to make sure the McLame mantra doesn't have the final word.

[SmileyRose]

18. I don't want him on DEFENSE (fighting back) but on offense.

I want him hammering McPalin so bad all THEY can do is defend. Defense is an inherently weak position. I want him to refuse to let lies stand. Tell the truth, about smears regarding him, tell the truth about lies told by McPalin, and sell his plans for America in the best light to appeal to as many Americans as possible.

Everyone says, Kerry didn't fight hard enough. Maybe, but I doubt it would have mattered. Once the public hears the smear it's stuck in their head. Better to keep Rove Inc on defense from the get go rather than end up on the weak end ourselves. We like to think Obama has handled the Wright, Ayers, Madrassa, flag pin stupidity and it's behind us, but it isn't and it never will be. I know quite a lot of swing voters that tend to trend progressive that are just enough afraid of Obama now that they may not vote for him, in spite of the fact what he stands for is exactly what they want.

[bemildred]

19. No need to panic.

You knew it was going to be a dirty campaign, you knew the state propaganda organs were going to try to sway the voting public and manipulate the outcome. You knew all this was going to happen. This is where the rubber meets the road in political life, the next 8 weeks. But we are just turning up the amps at this point. Obama is letting them wear themselves out. It is really too early in the campaign for them to be trotting out this level of vitriol and pandering, you have to do it right at the end. He did not get where he is by being out-foxed by the likes of John McCain and Sarah Palin.