There really can be too much of a good thing. 

For weeks - months - Obama has dominated the media like an omnipresent figure at the background of everything. When McCain complains that the media is biased to Obama, he’s got a point. For starters, an old, balding white guy who’s been a fixture of Washington for years is just less interesting than a young, handsome african-american with a gift for public speaking…

…so he probably does have a point about Obama being a “celebrity”.

But the flip side of the coin is audience burnout. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but now quite a few in the mainstream talk about a public burnout on Obama. Obama, Obama, Obama - all hours of the day. It gets wearisome for anyone who isn’t a die-hard Obamaniac. 

Unfortunately, this burnout couldn’t come at a worst time for Barack - at least that’s what I think. McCain has been industriously trying to define Obama on his own terms. With people so worn on Obama, I think it actually makes them more receptive than usual to McCain’s accusations. You know, just for variety. 

And Obama simply HAS to hit back at McCain over those accusations or risk being “Kerry-ised” - finding himself defined as a leftist rock-star or (more…)

The innocence didn’t last even beyond July. To be fair on McCain, it’s been painfully clear that he needed to shape up his campaign into a leaner, sharper-edged machine compared to it’s amorphous and sedate nature to this point. I’m not privy to the quiet machinations behind the Republican’s campaign, but I’m pretty sure he’s been doing his own homework. While it would be nice to think that Obama’s current weaknesses (and I use that word relatively) are due largely to external events, I don’t think anyone should be deluded into thinking that the Republicans are going to take prospective defeat lying down.

It’s been fashionable to compare the elegant, eloquent Obama campaign to McCain’s apparently bumbling, stumbling advertising, pandering and roundhouse gaffes. It’s also fashionable to propose that the panacea to Obama’s current travails is to present concrete, detailed policy positions. By contrasting himself to the bumbling McCain and demonstrating his intellectual and personal gravitas, so the story goes, Obama can counter the Republican’s clumsy, offensive swipes at him.

That’s a big mistake.

Over the past few days, the Huffington Post has had a couple of interesting posts concerning the Republican’s advertising tactics: E-mailing, swarms of ‘flailing’ attack ads, and (and I think this is the most telling of all) simple keyword messaging.

I think the last one sums things up pretty well. It has nothing to do with people “not paying attention” or not being discerning enough. It’s actually a well known science in marketing circles, particularly e-marketing circles, that certain words can subtly influence a reader’s/listener’s/viewer’s attitudes. It’s a  game of putting people in a frame of mind (more…)

First of all, I should apologize for the horribly inconsistent posting. Jim hasn’t been able to follow up with me much and I personally haven’t had the inspiration to write anything good about the campaign. The last few attempts at humor and personal potshots fell flat and I never posted them in the end (I thought about making a crack at Obama and his 300, but THIS IS SPARTA jokes are getting old)

Anyway, on to the post - in the TIME magazine’s tribute to Nelson Mandela, author Richard Stengel listed 8 lessons of leadership. No.2 was; lead from the front, but don’t leave your base behind. I can think of two ways where this can apply to Obama.

The first and most obvious is the implicit lesson of “dancing with those who brought you”. The far left has been seriously riled by Obama’s perceived moves (more…)

It’s been a quietly busy week on the election front. I think a lot of people are rather more engrossed in the furor over Scott McClellan than watching the fading drama in the democratic race. Clinton is still there and posturing, but Obama has clearly been quietly shifting the gears and it really is only a matter of time before he seals it. McCain also probably recognizes this, hence his increasing criticism of the like- oh screw that - the democratic nominee. Team Obama isn’t going to be taking their eyes off Clinton, but their attention is now set on managing the finale and not on beating her.

I’m a little concerned about Obama, though. For (more…)

Now yes, Clinton is still in the running, but I think everyone is settling in to the thought that she’s finished. Obama will certainly act that way (though he’s also likely to continue to keep an eye on her and smack her down if she gets too uppity - he’s not going to repeat New Hampshire, not now.) I think Clinton is also adjusting to that reality, or at least the reality that she’s (more…)

Obama – McCain isn’t merely a clash of ideologies; it’s an argument of what it really means to be American.

On one hand we have McCain, the quintessential “American Legend”. John McCain is the war hero. The gutsy battlefield veteran who’s stared death in the face, spat on it and kicked it in the nuts. He’s a white guy’s white guy – when the gooks tried to break him, he didn’t give them an inch. He stuck with his friends even while he had an easy way out. He’s made himself the scourge of The Hill as a maverick and outsider, willing to take stand on things he believed in, regardless of political expediency or party affiliations. He’s a man (more…)

Just as Obama sees the light at the end of the tunnel, his rival, John McCain is facing his Ralph Nader moment as former Republican Bob Barr puts forward his own run as a Republican candidate.

Barr, however, is a sideshow compared to the other rogue elephant in the room - Rep. Ron Paul. (more…)

The lines are becoming increasingly clear. With Clinton barely managing to scrape through by the skin of her teeth in Indiana, there is little doubt - should have been little doubt since April - that Obama will be the democratic nominee. John McCain pretty much settled into that idea over a month ago (more…)

In his post “UMNO and the Democrats”, the Furry commented that “the Dems have to get their shit together FAST,” and warned that an extended fight could see the ultimate democratic nominee facing a well entrenched John McCain. Well, McCain is entrenching himself. While the Democrats continue to dominate the nation’s airwaves, John McCain is quietly building his image in the manner in which he is most comfortable - town hall gatherings; the small, personal, face-to-face meetings with the people that he so revels in.

It remains to be seen how well his efforts will pay off – (more…)

Well, I’m a little late on this, but I’m posting it anyway: Obama’s ex-pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright has hit out at the constant harping in the media over his sermons, saying that he felt that the coverage was “unfair”, “unjust” and “untrue”, that they were “doing it for some very devious reasons,”. Well, to be perfectly fair, a lot of people out there probably felt the same about the good Reverend’s statements.

According to this MSNBC piece, when asked about Obama’s speech on race, Wright said; “He’s a politician, I’m a pastor. I do what I do. He does what politicians do. What happened in Philadelphia, where he had to respond to the sound bites, he responded as a politician.” I’m not sure if I like that statement (more…)