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August 21, 2008

Going on the attack.

The turnaround time on attack ads this political season is quickly approaching zero.

Yesterday, asked by writers from Politico how many houses he owns, John McCain answered:

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you...It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

Added to BarackObamadotcom on YouTube sometime very early this morning:

The harshest and most effective part of this ad is the slo-mo shot of McCain staring vacantly as mournful piano music plays and the narrator sadly explains, "McCain lost track. He couldn't remember."

Consider the age card played, and played well.

Sadly, this is the level to which we've descended, and it's only August. So much for a new kind of campaign. But McCain went there first, and it appears that attacks are still far more effective than ideals. So cheers to the Obama attack team for taking off the gloves when the time came.

Over at TPM, Theda Skocpol was prescient yesterday:

For weeks, Obama has ignored or wheedled when McCain and Lieberman attacked his patriotism and judgement. He has repeatedly begged them to stop because, supposedly, they are more honorable than that. He has asked them to discuss the issues dispassionately. What an insipid approach! McCain has NOT been honorable or honest, and Obama and his surrogates need to hammer on that incessantly. Use words like "lying" and "losing himself" or " (better) "forgetting what he is supposed to stand for." Stop focusing on decades ago in the POW camp. Talk about now, about the last years and months. Make the really obvious point that no candidate for President at this time can really be putting country first if he runs a dirty, lying campaign of false smears. That betrays the public trust. Tell it like it is, Obama!

Politics is not just about issues, it is a metaphorical test of strength. If a man will not get immediately -- if quietly -- angry and fight back when his patriotism is attacked, why should we trust him to defend the country? And if he won't punch back by explaining clearly why his approach to foreign policy is actually tougher and smarter, why McCain's is thoughtless and reckless, why would we think he is better to be Commander in Chief?...

Obama is lucky he is not further behind already. And he is going to fade fast if he just runs a feel-good, bland convention about abstract "hope" and "change." In addition to getting gritty and colorfully clear about his recipe for making Americans' lives better -- AND about his approach to make this nation safer and stronger in the world -- Obama needs to signal all the major speakers at next week's convention to go after McCain in a key part of each speech. We need to hear why McCain is wrong and dangerous and no longer so honest and honorable. It needs repeating with force and humor and passion.

Otherwise, the Convention will be wasted, and this historic turning point for our country will be lost.

Someone got the message.

I think McCain will come to regret letting his team of Bush-era attack dogs go after Obama the way they have. There's so much about McCain that's old, unappealing and wrong—and easy to fire at him, to use an unfortunate metaphor—that this isn't even a fair fight.

Prepare to be entertained.