WP, pg1: Obama's trip abroad was a clear success

[DeepModem Mom]

Embraced Overseas, But to What Effect?
Obama Says Voters Still Question Him
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 27, 2008; A01


Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has embarked on a weeklong tour of the Middle East and Europe designed to deepen his foreign policy credentials, confront questions at home about his readiness to be commander in chief and signal the possibility of a new era in U.S. relations with the rest of the world.

LONDON, July 26 -- By almost every measure, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's overseas tour that concluded here Saturday was a clear success, with meticulously planned and deftly executed events designed to beam back images to the United States of a politician comfortable on the world stage. What isn't measurable is whether it worked. Will a week of one-on-one meetings with foreign officials, cheering crowds, favorable and voluminous media coverage on both sides of the Atlantic and plain good fortune on the debate over getting out of Iraq overcome the doubts he faces at home about his readiness to be president? And if it doesn't, what will?

As Obama moved from Iraq and Afghanistan to Jordan and Israel and then to three European capitals before flying back to Chicago on Saturday night, strategists back home measured the political fallout for the senator from Illinois and for the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on an almost hourly basis. Their consensus was that the week turned into a near-rout for Obama.

John Weaver, who once was McCain's top political strategist, said his old boss made a big mistake by virtually daring Obama to go to Iraq and Afghanistan, only to see Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki generally embrace the Democrat's plan for withdrawing combat forces when he went there. "McCain lost the week badly, let's be honest," Weaver said in a message on Friday. "John is still in striking distance, thanks to his own character, biography and memories of the McCain of previous election cycles. But he cannot afford another week like this one."

Alex Castellanos, another Republican strategist, agreed that Obama had acquitted himself well overseas. " 'Barack goes global' is working," he noted. But he sounded a cautionary note, nonetheless. Obama, unlike McCain, he said, remains a work in progress who is still trying to answer the question, "Who is this guy?" "I think voters see this difference between the two men," he said in a message. "John McCain is complete. Barack Obama is completing himself. The question is, will he finish that job by November?"...

***

Given the mismatch between the Obama and McCain campaigns over the past week, the other question for Obama is why the race for president remains as relatively close as it does. Obama said he believes that is because voters still have enough questions to keep them from committing....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601972_pf.html

[LSparkle]

1. Plus, I still don't think they're polling cell phone users ...

Younger voters who overwhelmingly support Obama.

[opihimoimoi]

9. The Cainittes are ordering tons of Pain killers and booze...Whoever suggested

the trip is gonna get killed....if it was McPain's idea...I wonder if his aides tried to stop him?

Hmmmmmmm

[ErinBerin84]

2. haha

"Obama, unlike McCain, he said, remains a work in progress"

Obama = a work in progress
McCain= a work in disintegration.

[BlooInBloo]

3. You can tell by how concerned DUers got that it was a rout.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. I'm not up on a lot of internal discussion here at DU. Is "concerned DUers"...

meant to be read as "trolls"?

And, to be clear, in this article I read "rout" as a positive term -- as in, the trip was a runaway success.

[BlooInBloo]

6. Yes, to the question.... And I understood the positive "rout".

[Warren Stupidity]

10. Well the headline is ambiguous

"turned into near-rout for Obama" can be read either way. A rout is a bad defeat, an ass-whupping. The usage here "rout for" is peculiar. One has to read through the article to understand if the author meant that McCain suffered a near-rout from Obama, or that Obama suffered a self-inflicted near-rout on himself.

The author needs a better editor.

[BlooInBloo]

11. The difference between "of" and "for". It's not ambiguous.

[Warren Stupidity]

13. no.

A rout means "an overwhelming defeat".

Last week was nearly an overwhelming defeat for Obama. << ambiguous can mean either a victory or a defeat

Last week was nearly an overwhelming defeat of Obama. << unambiguos.

Here is a googled headline:
"THE GAME OF CRICKET.; AN OVERWHELMING DEFEAT FOR THE ST. GEORGE'S CLUB."

So you think the St. George's Club won? You would be wrong about that.

and another:
"CHANDLER DID NOT VOTE.; AN OVERWHELMING DEFEAT FOR PROHIBITION IN NEW-HAMPSHIRE."

Prohibition lost.

[BlooInBloo]

15. self-delete - nevermind.

[DeepModem Mom]

17. Please see my edit of the subject line. I guess both I, and Mr. Balz...

have shown our "Stupidity."

"Their consensus was that the week turned into a near-rout for Obama." (Dan Balz)

[DeepModem Mom]

12. I was the author of the headline, and I've edited it to read Obama was a clear success.

Hopefully, that will be enough to remove suspicion that after 34,000 posts over several years here I am a troll.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. I thought it was the WAPO which is a refuglican troll.

I never suspected you. English is a ridiculous language at times.

[DeepModem Mom]

18. That's okay. I just posted to you above -- I took the subject line from a line in the article. nt

[Cha]

19. Thanks DMM..I was going to write a

snarky post about dan balz but then I read more and decided even from this article it was a success. I didn't understand "rout".

[EFerrari]

7. Then it's a rout by Obama and for McCain.

A good week for Democrats. :hi:

[DeepModem Mom]

8. A nice week! nt

[azmouse]

4. I like how the media keeps saying the race is 'relatively close'...

I look forward to the media explanation of the Obama landslide in Nov.

[Cha]

14. Yeah, mccain made a "big political mistake by virtually daring

Obama to go to Iraq and Afghanistan".. Biggest of his sorry life.

"John Weaver, who once was McCain's top political strategist, said his old boss made a big mistake by virtually daring Obama to go to Iraq and Afghanistan, only to see Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki generally embrace the Democrat's plan for withdrawing combat forces when he went there. "McCain lost the week badly, let's be honest," Weaver said in a message on Friday. "John is still in striking distance, thanks to his own character, biography and memories of the McCain of previous election cycles. But he cannot afford another week like this one."

"McCain Makes the Biggest Political Mistake of Our Lifetimes"

//snip//

"Senator McCain, knowing that he held an edge on Barack Obama on the "Commander in Chief" question, badly overplayed his hand. He taunted Senator Obama on his lack of foreign policy experience and he challenged Obama to go to Iraq. He sneered at Obama for formulating an Iraq policy prior to traveling to the war zone. He even offered to go with him to Iraq, as if Obama needed his hand held by the man with military experience.

McCain wanted the public to believe that Obama was a novice, a whipper-snapper who would jeopardize our nation's security.

Obama listened to McCain's attempted bullying and said, "You know what? I'll go to Iraq. And Afghanistan, Israel, Germany -- I'll make this a big foreign policy trip abroad. I'll show the voters back home that the world still really does love the United States, they just don't love President Bush or John McCain."

And Obama went abroad, with the world's press following him, clinging to his every word, oohing and aahing at his every jump shot, hoping to catch a glimpse of his every smile."


<much more>
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6532956

[Phx_Dem]

20. This is rich.

"John is still in striking distance, thanks to his own character, biography and memories of the McCain of previous election cycles. But he cannot afford another week like this one."

REALLY? What character would that be?

[Warren Stupidity]

21. And - which week hasn't been a disaster for him?

His campaign is starting to become the archetype for EPIC FAIL. The bullshit media system has been working overtime to re-edit the 'newz' to try to fabricate something that doesn't stink as bad as it clearly does.