Anyone else feeling like Obama is playing more defense than offense lately?

[charlyvi]

Since he got back from his trip, the McCain camp has been hitting him with every low blow they can muster. We know it's bullshit, most voters know it's bullshit, but we have 100 days to go until the election. Day after day of this crap is bound to have an effect, if for no other reason than the constant repetition of innuendo and half truths. These people don't have a bottom.

I would love to think the American public is too smart and sophisticated for this, but let's be realistic. They aren't.

Obama needs an effective left jab--a lethal upper cut. He can't let McCain define him. Is his idea of a new, elevated type of politics huring him in this respect, or am I worrying for nothing?

[monmouth]

1. If the media would just cut him a break, half a break, it would help.

I'd like to see Andrea do more of what she did yesterday with Gramp's campaign guy. Obama is fighting Repubs and the media. Not a fair fight..

[KittyWampus]

8. the media won't though. And it hasn't been fair in decades. Therefore, Obama's team needs to correct

themselves.

Their present strategy SUCKS.

They are, in fact, doing what Kerry did.

And what baffles me is, DU'ers are making excuses for this.

[AngryAmish]

2. He must attack

His opponents are enemies of America. He must mercilessly crush them.

[polichick]

3. That's what it looks like - and many Amurkins really are stupid enough to buy it.

[Alter Ego]

4. I think "Is that all you've got, Senator McCain? Britney Spears

and Paris Hilton? Really?" is rather effective.

[KittyWampus]

11. Is it getting played on an endless loop on the newsshows? IF not, it doesn't do jackshit

except make DU'ers feel like Obama and his team are actually doing something effective when they aren't.

[IndependentDem]

26. that is exactly right...

they are saying the right things but to the wrong people. How many average americans watch town-hall meetings?

[phantom power]

5. I agree.

Although at least he's playing good defense.

I'd like to see them come out with an ad campaign clobbering McCain on some topic that McCain's campaign didn't bring up first.

[LaurenG]

6. I think he's doing great, he makes fun of their stupidity in fabulous ways

and people don't like mean politicians, somewhere deep inside it reminds them of dirty politics 2000/2004 and most decent people are sick of that.

[charlyvi]

15. I agree....especially the "Oops, he did it again" line.

But the conventional media isn't playing up the responses as much as the attacks; and, let's face it, DU and the blogs are pretty much preaching to the choir. He needs some offensive strategy here.

[blondeatlast]

He's doing fine--but the m$m isn't reporting it. Today's smack at the McSame ads

was PERFECT--I'll leave it to you to figure out what I'm talking about (hint: it's on this GDP page already).

[KittyWampus]

12. And did this "perfect" smack get equal news coverage?

[blondeatlast]

17. Is that in Obama's hands? nt

[charlyvi]

20. No, but his ads are.

And he needs a little piss and vinegar in with the sweet. He needs to attack on the issues--really attack.

[rox63]

7. I think making McLame look like a whiner is working just fine n/t

[blondeatlast]

10. His response to the attack ads today in Cedar Rapids was PERFECT! nt

[charlyvi]

21. But unless he puts it in an ad buy, who will hear it?

[endarkenment]

9. Entire CorpMedia Control is on Offensive against Obama

They have hit the panic button. It isn't even August yet.

[Kutjara]

13. This is starting to feel a little like a light version...

...of the Zimbabwean election. While the GOP haven't felt the need to kill anyone yet (that we know of), they have almost total control of the media and can shape the public debate at will. Even when their candidate sticks his foot firmly in his mouth, the ever-loyal members of the state media step in to snip, edit, smooth, and opinionate the mistake away.

Meanwhile, Obama could give a lollipop to a little blue-eyed child and the press would scream he was trying to give all white people diabetes.

[emilyg]

16. Now that is funny. Love it.

Meanwhile, Obama could give a lollipop to a little blue-eyed child and the press would scream he was trying to give all white people diabetes.
"I have a fervent nostalgia for the future." - Brian Eno

[treestar]

14. The media is trying so hard this week that it's got to be obvious

So obvious that it can backlash. Americans love an underdog.

[charlyvi]

23. I hope you're right.

But we're talking here about a public that believes the media is actually liberal. If they're attacking their own, so the thinking goes, there must be something to it. Obama's got to fight that.

[Smarmie Doofus]

18. Yes. And he's got to stop that.

The swing voters aren't going put a pacifist in the oval office. This is just a fact.

They want to know he can get tough.... just in case he needs... as president... to 'get tough" against foreign enemies... real or imagined.

He doesn't have to be Gorilla Monsoon. He doesn't have to even get to McCain's level. He can score significantly by simply parrying McCain's thrusts with intimations that the complexities of most of these issues are beyond McCain's ability to understand.... which, BTW, they ARE.

People know that McCain's not bright and Obama is. I think there is significant fatigue about being led by the intellectually challenged and a realization... even among, shall we say, "non-progressives " .... that there are real dangers involved in , and real prices to pay for electing simpletons to important offices like POTUS.

[gateley]

19. He's getting pummeled. It's like he doesn't have the time to even take

a breath before the next BS attack comes.

He's gotta respond (I think) - but with the volume of stuff coming at him, it's all he can do to even stay current with the responses.

And although I laugh at McCain's campaign, they've sure got him -- and his tv spots -- on the news a lot lately.

[charlyvi]

25. What worries me is....

Why didn't Obama's people see this coming? Why weren't they better prepared. This is a bullshit storm of immense proportions, and McCain's camp was dropping hints about how they were going to play it all during Obama's trip.

[gateley]

28. Your feelings are valid, IMO.

But maybe sometimes all you CAN do is respond. :shrug: Not sure how they could have headed this SURGE off at the pass.

[nsd]

22. It's really just the past few days.

Last week Obama dominated the news with his international trip and the Berlin speech. This week McCain is setting the agenda with this blizzard of attacks. I doubt McCain can keep it up -- "McCain attacks Obama" is gonna get old after a while and make him (McCain) look too small -- but, even so, I agree Obama needs to *initiate* some fights with McCain rather than simply responding to McCain's attacks (though yesterday's response ad was good). The best defense really is a good offense.

[charlyvi]

24. Bingo. n/t

[WeDidIt]

27. Not really, no. n/t

[tishaLA]

29. Part of it is on purpose

Obama knows that he cannot do something every day that is as powerful as the trip and doing so would be a mistake. I frankly think last week's trip went better than anyone in the Obama campaign expected, so they banked more positive coverage than they could have reasonably assumed; this was a week they planned to simply do grunt work politics of town hall meetings, closed door sessions with advisers to make the candidate look "presidential," etc. The next two weeks are the Olympics, and Obama has ad buys that McCain simply cannot match.

Look: we all know that last October Obama was being written off because he seemed too passive in Iowa. But he felt like he couldn't go out and do spectacles and rousing speeches every day: he had to connect with the voters as a regular person. He did that, and gradually bumped up the oratory until the campaign built to a rousing crescendo and a 7 pt victory.

[DFLforever]

30. Not me.

O's out doing his thing in MO and IA while McCain self-destructs via his ads and crazy surrogates on cable TV.

McCain is fighting for his life right now: he's in do or die mode. He feels he won't have a chance after the conventions.

Personally, I think he'll have some success with his bigoted base but I think he'll turn off the middle ground voter who hates ugly, partisan poltics.