I think Obama should come out swinging.

[Drunken Irishman]

Take the gloves off! Go after McCain's service, call him a liar, call him a PTSD nut, say he really wasn't a POW. Forget that even Pres. Bush wasn't stupid enough to go after Kerry's service in 2004 (that was left to other groups), or that Obama never served in the military. The American people LOVE to have non-military men go after those who fought. They'd run from McCain so fast, it'd be over! He should do an ad where it shows a plane slamming into the ground, exploding (maybe use footage of the Spain crash today) and say "He couldn't even fly a fighter jet...how can we expect him to lead us through the worst economic troubles in nearly 80 years?"

Then throw up another ad that calls McCain an adulterer! Maybe have photos of his first wife and then splice in Cindy McCain, asking the most important question of all, "If John McCain can't keep his commitment to his first wife, how will he to America?" PERFECT! Who cares if Americans have a history of rallying behind adulterers, even if they're caught! This would be different, no one would see it as a pathetic low blow, right?

Then go after his age! YEAH, perfect! Maybe have a really old person sitting in a chair forgetting where he is! Oh, that sounds great! His wife could say, "Are you confused again, Johnny?" That'd play SOOOOO well! I mean, who cares if seniors vote or that the whole age debate HELPED Reagan in the 80s. It'd surely work this time!

Yeah, I think Obama should hammer McCain not on issues, but personal stuff. Because that's the only way he wins...then he can have one mega ad that attacks him on all the above.

That's the ticket!

Obama needs to go on the offensive now and hammer, hammer, hammer!

[scheming daemons]

1. That's going to be Biden's job, in about 72 hours..... Obama will "stay above the fray"

[Drunken Irishman]

2. Read what I said...

[scheming daemons]

3. I did.... I know you were sarcastic...... but I actually think the surrogates SHOULD be pitbulls....

I have no problem with it at all.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. That isn't the point, however.

All these people going after Obama advocate he go after McCain using the above contexts. That will sink his campaign and if people actually believe he can succeed attacking McCain in that way, they don't know politics.

Obama needs to hit harder on the issues, which will come. But he can't attack McCain's service, not directly. He can't attack McCain's infidelity, not directly. It's those types of attacks that BOLSTER McCain, not hurt him.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Now, c'mon.

How are we supposed to know it's sarcasm without a :sarcasm: smiley?

[TooBigaTent]

6. It sure sounds like you do NOT want an aggressive attack against McInsane. If Obama continues

to play a polite game against the GOPers, he will surely earn the distinction of being the first minority nominee of a major party to lose.

The issues are not what decides elections in 21st century Amerika, if they ever were. Especially in today's world, control of the media, effective utilization of vicious attack ads, control of the voting process, packaging of lies into concise sound-bites that play well to the ignornce and bigotry of the public, and willingness to do whatever is necessary for victory are key factors. On each of these, the pukes have the advantage.

I have given up any hope that the Obama campaign will try to appeal to liberals/progressives and the millions of citizens who are turned off by the choice between a repthug and a DINO. So, since he is putting all his electoral eggs in the center-right basket, unless the Obama campaign abandons its "we're to good to really fight" approach and gears his strategy to attracting the low-info, responsive-to-superficial-issues voter, I don't see how he can win in November.

[Drunken Irishman]

8. Sounds like you didn't get it.

The type of aggressive campaign many on her advocating will kill Sen. Obama. He's winning right now, but you can kiss goodbye his lead if he goes out like this.

Now you can believe Obama should go after McCain on these non-issues, but you'd be wrong.

[TooBigaTent]

10. In an ideal world, voters would conscientiously analyze a candidate's positions on issues by

learning the truth of those positions.

However, we live in the real world where, for instance, no matter what the facts are about the respective tax plans, the message that is received by the public is that Obama will raise their taxes and McCain will lower them.

No amount of polite, reasoned discussion will change that perception as long as the factors I noted change. And they are not going to change, at least in time for this election.

So, you can believe that taking the milquetoast approach will be rewarded by votes from the great uninformed populace, but you'd be wrong.

How many still believe that Saddam Hussein piloted the 9/11 planes himself? How many still 'know' that Obama is a Muslim? How many don't trust his 'patriotism' because he does not wear a god-damned flag pin?

Politics is not an academic exercise. It has been turned into a war by the rethugs and unless we treat it as such instead of as a high school debate, the edge has to go to those willing to do the most to win.

[zulchzulu]

7. 527s are lining up to attack McCain on his POW stories... let them do that

Obama doesn't need to go after Johnny Songbird's denouncing his country 72 hours after he crashed. Bob Dornan, Ted Sampley and others are going to go after McCain this fall. Ron Paul might even go after him as well.

All Obama has to do is tie McCain to Iraq and how he is George Bush with even more mental instability on the side.

[Drunken Irishman]

9. Obama can't do it.

He has to let another party do it. Those who say he should do it don't get it. Even Bush didn't go after Kerry's service because he knew it would kill his campaign.

If a 3rd party does it that is NOT linked to the Obama campaign, Obama cam come out and "denounce" it, but it's still out there. If it comes from his campaign, though, it will end it. He will be finished.