At 10:19 AM -0400 10/9/08, Charles Bennett wrote:
>Obama will no longer get the benefit of the doubt, *ever*, from them.
>Oprah has the same problem brewing.
>
>I watched Obama's comment completely in context. I do not think it
>was meant as a slam at all, it is a common figure of speech.[1] but he
>was an idiot for using it because of exactly what happened.
>
>He either got "too cute" or just spoke before he engaged his brain.
>Either way, his message was lost. Whatever the hell he was talking
>about will not get a bit of coverage, just the *pig* part.
>
>The *real* cost will be three days off message and one more thing that
>will keep him on defense.
>
>If he plays defense all the way to November, he will loose.
I don't know, having the first time the Republicans go on the
attack being over a common figure of speech that everyone knows is
crap might actually work in his favour.
Basically, the Republican faithful (and a few other groups
similarly out of touch with reality) will go on about its sexist
nature, but I think most people are going to react the same way as
you - its a common figure of speech, it wasn't meant as a slam, etc.
I don't think for a moment that Obama was Machiavellian
enough that it was a deliberate trap, or anything like that, but
actually "from now on they will try to bury me in bullshit and lies
because they have nothing to say" actually IS a message Obama has to
get out right now, and this issue is a pretty perfect illustration
for him.
He has everyone who ever used the phrase themselves on side,
he has plenty of video of John McCain using the phrase to describe
Hillarys plan so he can clearly show it is hypocritical,
I think Obama has handled it very well - McCain continues his
obsession with winning the news cycle, but no one is going to
actually change a vote over this crap, whereas Obama has started put
the whole thing in a nice narrative of the McCain campaign trying to
derail things with lies and trivial things, and lie to do so. If he
keeps it up (say, the McCain camp does something equally trivial
three or so times) then he actually does have something. It also
builds nicely on what Biden has been saying as his response to the
RNC - basically, they have slogans, they have smears, they have no
policy.
Basically, McCain won the news cycle, but Obama made good
traction on negating the whole Rovian smear tactics, and claiming the
high ground. If they repeat this with a few more news cycles, McCain
will win a few more news cycles and lose himself an election.
Cheers
David
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