18
Aug
2008
“Obama Nation”
A new book by Jerome Corsi recently came out attempting to attack Barack Obama in a similar manner to the attack on John Kerry in 2004. The attack on John Kerry, “Unfit for Command,” assailed his record in Vietnam.
We’ll see if the attacks stick, but with Obama appearing to slow down in the polls recently, this could really mean something. In addition, ”Obama Nation” is predicted to hit number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.
Update: John Kerry has launched a website Truth Fights Back, to counter attacks like those in Corsi’s book.
6
Aug
2008
Flip-Flops aren’t just for the beach!
In the 2004 presidential campaign John Kerry’s (D) presidential bid was almost entirely destroyed by accusations that he was a ‘flip-flopper.’ This came mostly after he said about the war in Iraq, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it…”
It appeared that 1) he couldn’t make his mind up, and 2) he changed his positions for political gain. Kerry did not look Presidential. He looked weak. To mock him, people dressed up like flip-flops, George W. Bush repeated the accusation, and it stuck. It stuck good. John Kerry lost.
This election both John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (R) have been accused of being ‘flip-flopers.’
What both of them have going against them is their time in the U.S. Senate. A body that only gets things done when Senators compromise and change their positions on issues. Unfortunately for John McCain, he has been in the Senate many, many more years than Barack Obama. This allows people to dig up times where he has changed his position and ‘flopped.’
Politico, along with PoliFact, has an excellent analysis that lays out the major issues that both presidential candidates (especially Obama) have ‘flip-flopped’ on. They rate each ‘flop’ on a ‘flip-o-meter‘ (Ratings of No-Flip, Half-Flip, and Full-Flip) However, the mere existence of a ‘meter’ seems to mock any charges of ‘flip-flopping.’ Politico itself notes:
[T]he presidential race has featured so many alleged flip-flops by either Obama or John McCain … that the charge itself is in danger of losing some of its potency. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to determine on which issues the candidates have actually reversed their positions, and whether their shifts were indeed motivated by political expediency (the implication behind most flip-flop charges) or changing circumstances.
We’ll see if charges of ‘flip-flopping’ resonate like the did in 2004, but I somehow don’t think they will.
13
Jul
2008
Are We ‘Whiners’ or Just ‘Bitter’?
Phil Gramm, former Senator from the great state of Texas, told the Washington Times that country was filled with “whiners” and the United States is merely in a “mental recession.” Senator Gramm is one of John McCain’s economic advisers.
If Senator Gramm’s comment on the economy is correct or not isn’t the point. Remember, politics is about perception.
This is quite difficult news for the millions of people across the country who are struggling with high gas prices and an increasingly difficult mortgage crisis.
However, on the other side, in April Senator Obama said many people in small-town America are “bitter” and “cling to guns or religion … as a way to explain their frustrations.”
Which also is a quite difficult comment for people to hear. Since April, this comment has created a perception by some on the right that Obama is a elitist snob, as seen in this mock-poster on the right. (More on this subject to come later)
Both comments make the average American feel looked down upon, naive, and a little stupid.
However, forget about what you think about each of these comments. What really matters in the long run is:
Which comment hurts the respective campaign’s chances at election more?