Bad News for Sen. Obama - The Right Wing Assault Won't Start In August After All
Submitted by Nick Kelly on April 23, 2008 - 2:11pm.
Barack Obama | Democratic politics
It's already begun, and it is getting attention. For example, look at this "Willie Horton" type ad that is currently in third position on today's most watched YouTube political and news videos
The National Campaign Fund released and exclusive campaign ad to Newsmax.TV.
The political operative behind the Willie Horton ad that helped defeat Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race has a new ad targeting Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama.
Floyd Brown, a longtime conservative strategist who heads The National Campaign Fund, said he is launching the ad to expose Obama's weakness on gang violence.
"The ad draws a parallel between Obama's weakness on gang violence and the war on terror," said Brown, founder of Citizens United, which claims to be the largest political action group in the U.S.
It asks the following question...
Can a man so weak on the war on gangs, be trusted in the war on terror?
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Republicans are using Obama's connections to Jeremiah Wright in a new ad "...hammering two Democratic gubernatorial candidates for endorsing him."
And in Louisiana, the National Republican Congressional Committee evidently loves Obama's tax "coattails" (the kind that could drag Dems down with him), and is already using them in just such an attempt.
The thing is, negative campaigning works - especially against relative newcomers and /or idealists who fail to fight back effectively.
Personally, although I get steamed by the negative attacks on Hillary, I feel much more confident that she can and will counter them effectively.
Obama, on the other hand, just doesn't seem to have what it takes to deal with them without seeming juvenile or snobbish.
but it can be just as deadly to one's political career. That's part of why I admire the doggedness and determination of political "fighters", like Hillary, and Bill Clinton.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
and that he thinks that sort of resilience and toughness is "what Americans want in a President."
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think, you know, Hillary's character comes through. She's very strong. She's very smart. She connects with people. Boy, she's tough. She resilient. She's got stick-to-it-ive-ness. I think that's what Americans want in a President. And, you know, she's taken all- she's taken everything thrown at her from the beginning. It's been a negative campaign, and not of her volition. It's been a, sort of, name-calling and labeling and accusations, and she's weathered it all, just like she and her husband have for 25 or 30 years in American politics.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
...on another blog...
"If Al Gore had fought like this, GWB would never have become president."
We need a nominee who fights...... not whines.
"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood of ideas in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." JFK
especially in Ohio, it's quite unlikely that he would be backing a previously unknown first-term Senator who brags about the Republicans who voted for him and doesn't want any of the Florida and Michigan Democratic votes counted.
No doubt about it, the Democratic Party needs a real fighter to win the Presidency.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
I am not for the death penalty either--I don't like the ad, but I guess our nominee had better get ready for a lot of crazy stuff!
I must also say, when it comes to Obama there is so much better stuff to choose from! Rezko, Ayers, Auchi, Ata, Malek, and other scary supporters from Chicago.
to the NC ad, or does he hope Obama will be the nominee and thus doesn't want him crushed with negativity? Probably both, I suspect.
will provide more than enough ammo for these attack dogs to use on BO. What will he do when they start looking at Michelle's extra- ordinary "promotion" and raise at a non-profit hospital that received one of BO's earmarks and ran by a CEO known as part of BO's "kitchen cabinet?" A profitable "non-profit" hospital with highly paid administrators receiving tax money for a project that could easily be self-funded. When the Rezco story is finally told, the casual relationship claimed will invite further scrutiny. Is "enabler" a label that will be aptly put to use? There's no need for Hill's people to go into these stuff. The conservative attack dogs have been at work.
And the Democratic Party is blessed (although sometimes it can seem like cursed) with great numbers of extraordinarily fair-minded people. That's why it's so difficult to even talk to our opponents about their candidate's negatives. No matter which Democrat we support, most of us start with the suspicion that any negative ad or assertion concerning our candidate is "un-fair".
The trouble is, sometimes it turns out to be true that our candidate did something they shouldn't have, or didn't do something they should have. That is, sometimes those negative ads turn out to be more fair than we would prefer. And that is precisely why our Democratic delegates need to carefully and fully examine the negative materials already being circulated against both Hillary and Obama. It's an unpleasant task; but if it doesn't get done soon, we will be on the receiving end of some very effective negative ads next fall. And we certainly won't like them any better then.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
The NC ad mentions the two Dems running for Governor. This morning on Morning Joe, Andrea Mitchell and Joe talked about how this is the Republican Party of Jesse Helms and how that ad has struck terror into the hearts of those and other potential downticket Dems. Suddendly, we see another way the GOP will use O's negative associations to strike back at us. In the background, I heard Andrea say "They're toast".
He's becoming, at least as portrayed this morning, poison to the party. That doesn't quite have the same ring as "Power to the People".
are disabled at the YouTube Ad.
(cough)
of YouTube contributors who look out for his best interests there, but I don't know whether that may have resulted in the comments being disabled.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
by the time the Repubs are done with him he'll be lucky to keep his Senate seat. If they put him through even a fraction of what they put Clintons through for all those years, (and if he's the nominee, they will) I have a feeling he'll get out of politics altogether. But first he'll tear the Dem party down and hand the WH to the Repubs again.
We've got 2 hopes at this point:
1 - Hillary kicks butt in the remaining primaries and there can be no doubt in anyone's mind that she's our strongest candidate/
2 - The Super Ds are smart enough to see what will happen if he's the nominee.
Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
their candidacies from Obama's growing list of negatives. The Republican attack machine will see to that. We could lose our rare opportunity to transform Congress.
Furthermore, even without his many negatives, how could Democrats run without referencing the very good times we had when Bill Clinton was in office? And if they did that, their Republican opponents would simply point out that the Democrats can't make up their minds. Obama says those were lousy years, and candidate so and so says they were good years.
Based on what we are seeing now, it's easy to see how an Obama candidacy is likely to be a real liability for all Democratic candidates.
Besides the two you name, there is one more possibility we could hope for, and that would be for Obama to graciously concede for the good of the party and the country and throw his full support to Hillary. If he would do that, he could remain in politics and come back far stronger eight years from now.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
knock-out blows. Most are incremental blows delivered by so many attack dogs and can't be parried completely. And this is what is happening to BO. Inherent in this "mesmerizing" apparition (Obamanon) are deficiencies glossed over initially and, with the blinding rays subsiding, they have become obvious plate-size targets. The Clintons (not Chelsea) have their ongoing share. Bill and Hillary have been living through these incremental blows, as well as those meant to obliterate them. The frail perished - Dukakis, Kerry, Gore, Uncle Ted himself and countless others. So much is at stake (Iraq, Supreme Court, this planet, my grandkids future - just a few) and I wonder urgently - don't we deserve a real ultimate fighter?
Whether or not these ads are fair are immaterial. They play on weakness and will endorse any doubts people may lready have. In Senator Obama's case there are REAL doubts in Americans about his patriotism and judgement. While whining about the negativity of HRC it will pale compared what the GOP will do with his voting record from Illinois or his misstatements like he "doesn't want to punish a girl with a baby". With the internet, even more vicious ads can made cheaply without censorship (and played for free on cable news shows) and I expect it will get ugly. I agree with Obama's dream world of everyone playing nice but unfortunately history teaches us that this utopia is still far away. In front of idealistic students, faculty, elitists and his historically maligned African American rallies he is an inspiration but I do not believe that most Americans believe his vision is achievable nor does he tell us how we are going to get there other than hope.
(percentage-wise) worry about fairness and negativity, than do voters in Democratic primaries. GEs are much more partisan contests, and the reality is that fairness usually takes a back-seat to winning. In that process, all sorts of unfair things occur, including attempted election fraud, and the running of completely unfair negative advertising.
Senator Obama has never successfully faced anything like what he will surely face if he is the Democratic nominee.
Nick Kelly
Wes Clark could still secure America as a national security candidate.
conservative attack dogs prowling the war plains. There is no ducking them. Can't cry uncle or mommy or Teddy or Ophrah. Even Joan of Arc donned the armor and wielded the long sword. It's downright mean out there. It is the nature of politics, US-style. If you are going to be the saviour of the world, you gotta wear the uniform. Otherwise, drop your kitchen sink. I want a scrappy fighter, bloodied, bludgeoned who keeps getting up and putting it all on the line for me and my family.