And didn't we learn the other day that he'd been assigned to mentor Palin on international affairs? Biden's likely in bigger trouble than he knows.
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| Home Front: Politix |
| Obama Can't Win |
| 2008-09-11 |
| Of all the advantages Gov. Sarah Palin has brought to the GOP ticket, the most important may be that she has gotten into Barack Obama's head. How else to explain Sen. Obama's decision to go one-on-one against "Sarah Barracuda," captain of the Wasilla High state basketball champs? It's a matchup he'll lose. If Mr. Obama wants to win, he needs to remember he's running against John McCain for president, not Mrs. Palin for vice president. Michael Dukakis spent the last months of the 1988 campaign calling his opponent's running mate, Dan Quayle, a risky choice and even ran a TV ad blasting Mr. Quayle. The Bush/Quayle ticket carried 40 states. Adlai Stevenson spent the fall of 1952 bashing Dwight Eisenhower's running mate, Richard Nixon, calling him "the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, and then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation." The Republican ticket carried 39 of 48 states. If Mr. Obama keeps attacking Mrs. Palin, he could suffer the fate of his Democratic predecessors. These assaults highlight his own tissue-thin résumé, waste precious time better spent reassuring voters he is up for the job, and diminish him -- not her. Consider Mr. Obama's response to CNN's Anderson Cooper, who asked him about Republican claims that Mrs. Palin beats him on executive experience. Mr. Obama responded by comparing Wasilla's 50 city workers with his campaign's 2,500 employees and dismissed its budget of about $12 million a year by saying "we have a budget of about three times that just for the month." He claimed his campaign "made clear" his "ability to manage large systems and to execute." Of course, this ignores the fact that Mrs. Palin is now governor. She manages an $11 billion operating budget, a $1.7 billion capital expenditure budget, and nearly 29,000 full- and part-time state employees. In two years as governor, she's vetoed over $499 million from Alaska's capital budget -- more money than Mr. Obama is likely to spend on his entire campaign. And Mr. Obama is not running his campaign's day-to-day operation. His manager, David Plouffe, assisted by others, makes the decisions about the $335 million the campaign has spent. Even if Mr. Obama is his own campaign manager, does that qualify him for president? A debate between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Palin over executive experience also isn't smart politics for Democrats. As Mr. Obama talks down Mrs. Palin's record, voters may start comparing backgrounds. He won't come off well. Then there was Mr. Obama's blast Saturday about Mrs. Palin's record on earmarks. He went at her personally, saying, "you been taking all these earmarks when it is convenient and then suddenly you are the champion anti-earmark person." It's true. Mrs. Palin did seek earmarks as Wasilla's mayor. But as governor, she ratcheted down the state's requests for federal dollars, telling the legislature last year Alaska "cannot and must not rely so heavily on federal government earmarks." Her budget chief directed state agencies to reduce earmark requests to only "the most compelling needs" with "a strong national purpose," explaining to reporters "we really want to skinny it down." Mr. Obama has again started a debate he can't win. As senator, he has requested nearly $936 million in earmarks, ratcheting up his requests each year he's been in the Senate. If voters dislike earmarks -- and they do -- they may conclude Mrs. Palin cut them, while Mr. Obama grabs for more each year. Mr. Obama may also pay a price for his "lipstick on a pig" comment. The last time the word "lipstick" showed up in this campaign was during Mrs. Palin's memorable ad-lib in her acceptance speech. Mr. Obama says he didn't mean to aim the comment at Mrs. Palin, but he deserves all the negative flashback he gets from the snarky aside. Sen. Joe Biden has now joined the attack on Mrs. Palin, saying this week that her views on issues show she's "obviously a backwards step for women." This is a mistake. Mr. Obama is already finding it difficult to win over independent women and Hillary Clinton voters. If it looks like he's going out of his way to attack Mrs. Palin, these voters may conclude it's because he has a problem with strong women. In Denver two weeks ago, Mr. Obama said, "If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from." That's what he's trying to do, only the object of his painting is Sarah Palin, not John McCain. In Mrs. Palin, Mr. Obama faces a political phenomenon who has altered the election's dynamics. Americans have rarely seen someone who immediately connects with large numbers of voters at such a visceral level. Mrs. Palin may be the first vice presidential candidate since Lyndon B. Johnson to change an election's outcome. If Mr. Obama keeps attacking her, the odds of Gov. Palin becoming Vice President Palin increase significantly. |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #13 While the election is still winnable for Bambi, I think he will continue the old liberal playbook. Attack and smear. This will continue to piss off people and I think we can (and hope) see the dhimocrats taken to the woodshed this year. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-09-11 09:48 |
| #12 Democrats interact with the media bubble and think they are doing well. That's the problem with monopolies. They stagnate. They lack innovation created by real competition. So when a real alternative arrives [not just some new cosmetic fins on the tail], they're unprepared. Warning. The first instinct of any monopoly so threatened is not to alter behavior and become a competitor but to garner and employ force to keep the innovators out. This usually involves political muscle with 'regulations and laws' which serve no other purpose than to continue the monopoly. Monopolies resist altering behavior to adapt to new environments. Bail outs for the bank, bail outs for the Big Three, lead logically to bail outs for the MSM by their fellow travelers. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-09-11 09:17 |
| #11 Bolton is advising Palin on foreign Policy? Darth Bolton now has an apprentice! Cool! I think the VP debates are going to be a bloodbath - especially when Biden gets all condescending. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2008-09-11 08:53 |
| #10 There really ARE two Americas. The one people live in and the media bubble one. Democrats interact with the media bubble and think they are doing well. That is why they have so many problems with the "absurd" Sarah. That is why they have "blown" so many elections that they, by all rights, should have won. There is no free lunch, and the media bubble of the Democrats hurt them far more help. |
| Posted by: Minister of funny walks 2008-09-11 08:03 |
| #9 Fascinating concept, Ptah. Is John McCain smiling again? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-09-11 07:47 |
| #8 I think I've figured out What Palin contributes to McCain's campaign, and I run this by Rantburgers for comment. It's classical WWII fighter pilot tactics: the Thatch Weave. Palin and McCain are the wingmen, with Palin the bait and McCain the hook. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2008-09-11 07:35 |
| #7 Palin and Bolton vs Obama and Biden? Wow! Two marshmellows fighting for justice and freedom against a couple of wienies defending same old class/racial strife. Gimme a ringside seat. Doesn't get any better. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2008-09-11 04:49 |
| #6 Biden AND Palin? OMG. ANd despite the title fo the article, yes Obama can still win. Never underestimate the stupidity and cattle-like capabilities of the left. They can be driven by ferar and may cause others to join the stampede when the MSM ups the volume. Another thing ot remember - the Obama vote is counging on "I feel" rather than "I think" voters, and there sure are a lot of them that can be bamboozled by Obama and the fear-mongering negative campaign he has gone to - and they are too stupid to genuinely scrutinize the actual sparse and poor record of Obama. So no, don't bet on it, but keep worling ike hell to make it happen. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-09-11 02:53 |
| #5 Darth Rove? Bah, everyone knows who really swings that particular light saber: And didn't we learn the other day that he'd been assigned to mentor Palin on international affairs? Biden's likely in bigger trouble than he knows. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2008-09-11 02:29 |
| #4 If they ignore the comments because of the source, it's better yet. |
| Posted by: tipover 2008-09-11 01:33 |
| #3 Rove's authorship probably means the Dems suspect some sinister plan in his advice. This, I'm sure, amuses him. |
| Posted by: JSU 2008-09-11 01:08 |
| #2 Don't get your knickers in a twist. Most Rantburgers will click the link and will see who it's written by. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-09-11 01:04 |
| #1 Good article, it'd be nice to provide attribution; Didn't our master, Darth Rove write this? Give him credit, or suffer his wrath! |
| Posted by: Vespasian Threremp1622 2008-09-11 00:50 |