Good luck with that. That's how it appears based on what we've seen and on what he said during the interview with Olbermann last night, which I thought in general was pretty weak--he seemed tired and unfocused, too carefully choosing his words, too abstract, too bogged down in details, struggling to say what he means and not saying it very well. It got a little better toward the end. He just seemed to me to be a little too "Don't worry; we'll be fine." How he appeared last night doesn't matter because he's preaching to the choir on that show, but he better get his game on when he's speaking in venues in which more undecideds are watching. We need to see that fire and intensity that he flashed during his convention speech whenever he appears to the public.
And do the Obama people really think this focus on the issues and everything will work out strategy will be enough? I'm all for not taking the polls over the last few days too seriously. I'm all for hoping that the contrasts during the debates will favor Obama. I'm all for trusting that enough of the American electorate gets it that electing McCain means four more years of Bush. But apparently it's not so obvious to Americans now, or if it is, they don't care. So they better have an aggressive strategy for making their case because they will lose if they don't. Here's Drew Westen saying at Huffpost what I've been thinking:
I keep telling myself that the Obama people are too smart to follow in the footsteps of Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry, but they clearly have been outmaneuvered in the last two weeks. Maybe in the long run it won't matter. But surely based on the Dems recent history or running presidential campaigns we all have good reason to be concerned.
Westen on Palin:
The only statement the Obama campaign issued after McCain announced his choice--and the only real statement it has made until yesterday's "No Maverick" ad--was a laudatory statement of congratulations. When George Stephanopoulos posed a question to Obama about her qualifications this weekend and Keith Olbermann did the same on Monday, Obama evaded it both times, as if it were Obama, not McCain, who should be on the defensive about having chosen an unqualified person who is under the cloud of an ethics investigation and who has proven herself, like McCain, unable to get along with even members of her own party in Alaska, and, like Bush, to have an uneasy relationship with the truth.
Ok. Maybe that's not Obama's job to attack Palin, but the Dems have to have a plan for the worst when it comes to Palin, and they just can't sit around hoping she'll self-destruct. She might, but she probably won't. They should know by now that facts don't matter; she's a symbol, and all those negative facts about her that are coming to light will be made to appear as though it's just Democrats' negative spin about her. She'll survive or come out stronger unless something really truly bad comes to light.
The media will not do to Palin or McCain what they did to Gore or Kerry. It's up to the Dems to create and sustain a narrative that organizes the facts in a compelling way that will penetrate the American collective psyche. They cannot be so complacent to let the facts speak for themselves. Once again, I don't think you have to get into the mudslinging to attack her. Be clever about it. Be nimble. But play some offense. Too much is at stake here. They've got to bring their A-game 24/7. The Republicans so far have brought their A-game, at least since Schmidt tood over, and as usual they appear to have the ability to run circles around the Dems with a distinctly inferior product.