Reply #84: While I don't sleep on Obama's political skills....

[GoForTheJugular]

I also know when the tide is turning and when momentum begins to shift...

I also think we're putting him on way too high a pedestal just because he surprised the hell out of the Clintons... We're basically crowning him the best boxer of all time just because he happened to catch the old heavyweight champion of politics(the Clintons) on bad night and defeated them... and we're ignoring a few other facts, he's new to this game and he's lost before... The most important fact, and one I agreed with the Clintons about, was that he's never in his life faced what he's now facing and that's the dirty tactics of a desperate fighter who will do anything to win. In boxing matches like these you don't rely on the judges to give you a decision , you knock the guy unconscious

While you make very good points, all that "not being another mud slinging politician" will be meaningless if he loses. I'd rather him win dirty than lose clean. He's already shown he's a different kind of politician, just off his background. No one is going to look at Obama negatively if he responds to these attacks. I'm sorry I'm not seeing the ads savaging McCain's flip flops, nor showing him hugging Bush, hell I havent even seen any ads showcasing Obama saying exactly what you're saying. He's relying on people to think the way you do and that's a very risky strategy.

You're making the mistake of thinking the general public sees McCain's attacks as "hitting himself in the head with a hammer on a daily basis". You and I see it that way, again because we're paying attention and have been for a long time, way before this election cycle even began. We are a very small minority. People still have McCain on this pedestal and unless we make a concerted effort to knock him off of it the way he's now doing to Obama, this is not going to go well. People respect a fighter and Obama is not showing that right now. He has to at some point demonstrate that bare knuckle, I aint to be f'd with style or else he's going to get Kerryized. He doesnt need to get dirty, I think that would backfire, but there are ways to absolutely savage McCain that he is just not doing currently. I hope you're right and Im wrong, I really do but this just doesnt smell good currently.