State of the Race

By Libby

I don't understand why this is such big news. So the Clintons are allegedly telling superdelegates directly that Obama can't win the general. What would they be expected to do? Tell them they think Obama can win but the superdels should vote for Hillary anyway?

The big story for me this morning is that Hillary released a new ad that targeted McCain instead of Obama. Unfortunately, I find the ad a little odd, to put it kindly, but the tactics are good. She's responding to the public outcry for a united attack against the Republican and should be acknowledged for that and encouraged to keep it up.

Meanwhile, Obama, after a few days of keeping his focus on McCain, strays off track with remarks at an AFL-CIO convention. Again, much of it is a customary sort of rhetoric and rather mild taken in historical reference but still, I don't think it's helpful in this protracted contest.

“I know there’s been some talk about Rocky Balboa over the last couple of days. We all love Rocky. And last time I checked, I was the underdog in this state. But we’ve got to remember that Rocky was a movie. And so is the idea that somebody can fight for working people and at the same time, embrace the broken system in Washington, where corporate lobbyists use their clout to shape laws to their liking.”

Obama assured union workers that the Democratic Party will not be divided by the lengthy primary. “America can’t afford another four years of the Bush policies and that’s what John McCain’s offering,” he said. However, he was quick to liken Clinton to George W. Bush, accusing her of supporting unions only because she is running for president.

“It’s time we had a president who didn’t choke saying the word union,” Obama said. “It’s time we had a Democratic nominee who doesn’t just talk about unions during the primary.”

It's good that he worked in McCain, but while I don't think it's fair to call this likening Clinton to Bush, in my opinion, he goes too far by tacitly smearing Democrats as antiunion.

I understand that to some extent they still need to run against each other and it's impossible for either candidate to completely ignore the other's positions, but I just wish they could both consistently focus on why their policies are better than McCain and highlight their own differences as little and as subtly as possible. And yeah, I still want a pony too. 

Comments

[BJ]

It sounds like more of a smear against Clinton specifically as a nominee who just talks about unions than against Democrats in general. At least he didn't try to work in her time on Wal-Mart's board of directors.

I kind of feel sorry for the two of them. Policy-wise it's a pretty hard battle to make clear distinctions for anyone not highly wonkish and familiar with the policies, which means most of the general public. Their battle is mostly about intangibles like judgment, experience, hope, change, and the status quo. Going into policy discussions gives them great ammo against McCain but not much to work with against each other, which I think is what is leading to the more personal negativity.

[Libby Spencer]

Surely it was specifically targeted to Clinton but a smear to one is a smear to all as far as I'm concerned. I don't agree they couldn't avoid the personal attacks though. I mean, how hard is it to simply run the ad you would have run against McCain if it was already sewn up? For instance, they could do something like I want to see that every American is covered by health insurance, McCain wants to leave you at the mercy of the corporations...

The general is going to be decided on the same personality driven basis as the nomination. The bulk of the electorate is just not that informed and doesn't care to be. It would be better to force the GOP's hand now and make them show what they got in response and it would be most useful at this point to see how they intend to fight the GOP in the fall. If both candidates did it consistently, a protracted race would be beneficial.

I suppose it's naive to think they would both put aside their personal ambitions to build a narrative for a Democratic ticket in general, but if they could, they could set the party up for not just a 50 plus one win. They could sweep with a 70-30 or at least a 60-40. That's what this country needs right now.

[BJ]

I didn't say they couldn't avoid the personal attack, merely positing an explanation for them. So long as they are both running and treated as viable contenders, they can't afford to take their focus off each other for too long lest the other blow them out in a fashion they can't recover from.

Otherwise I quite agree with you. Policy on policy, either of them should be able to blow McCain out of the water, and the sooner the campaign gets to that stage, the happier I'll be.

[Libby]

Hey BJ. Did that sound critical? I was just ranting in general. Sorry, I'm cranky as hell with this miserable cold.